PITTSBURGH (AP) – Lose a star, plug in another. Win a
championship, go after another. The years and players may change,
yet it almost wouldn't be a women's Final Four without Connecticut.
Diana Taurasi, a freshman who didn't even start until UConn lost
its two returning All-Americans, dominated with her scoring and
court savvy as the Huskies rolled into the women's semifinals again
with a 67-48 victory over Louisiana Tech on Monday night.
|  | | UConn freshman Diana Taurasi, who paced the Huskies at both ends of the floor, takes a snip at the net after Monday's victory. |
This will be UConn's fifth trip to the Final Four under coach
Geno Auriemma since 1991. The Huskies, who won national titles in
1995 and last season, play Notre Dame for the third time this
season in the NCAA semifinals Friday night in St. Louis (9 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The Irish, 72-64 winners Monday over Vanderbilt in the Midwest
final, knocked UConn out of the top spot in the national rankings
92-76 on Jan. 15. The Huskies won the rematch 78-76 in the Big East
championship game March 6.
"Those were tough games and this will be a tough game," said
Sue Bird, who hit the game-winning shot in the Big East final.
Taurasi, who combines the discipline that Auriemma demands with
a sleek game polished on the Los Angeles playgrounds, had 17
points, 10 rebounds and four assists as the second game of the
season between the longtime women's powers turned into a romp.
"I don't know, I've never gotten nervous," said Taurasi, the
nation's top high school player a year ago. "I'm just out there
playing with four other girls, playing carefree.
"When I was growing up, I never played with girls – they use to
whine all the time – so I'd just go to the playground and play with
the guys."
Taurasi, who had 24 points in Saturday's 72-58 victory over
North Carolina State, took over the game late in the first half,
keying a half-ending 8-0 run with two driving layups and an assist
on Tamika Williams' layup.
Then, after the Lady Techsters made their last run by cutting
the lead to nine, Taurasi hit consecutive long 3-pointers to help
push the lead back to 17.
"She's really come out of her shell during this tournament and
I love her for it because she's gotten us back to the Final Four,"
teammate Swin Cash said of Taurasi, who has started only a third of
UConn's games yet was chosen as the outstanding player in the Big
East tournament and the regional.
Tamika Williams added 18 points and 10 rebounds as the defending
national champion Huskies (32-2) opened a 23-10 lead and never were
pressed in beating the Lady Techsters (31-5) for the second time
this season.
At the end of the game, Bird leaped excitedly in the
air and the Huskies pulled on their regional championship caps to
begin singing – what else? – "Who Let the Dogs Out?"
The Huskies, winners of 15 in a row even while losing stars
Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph to season-ending injuries, will
play either Big East rival Notre Dame or Vanderbilt in the women's
Final Four next weekend in St. Louis.
"We're going back to the Final Four and that's hard to do,"
said Bird, who had nine points and five rebounds. "I think a lot
of people didn't believe we could do it when we lost our two
All-Americans."
This Eastern Regional final was supposed to be closer – much
closer – than UConn's 71-55 victory in Ruston, La., but it wasn't,
not with Taurasi knocking down 3-pointers, making beautiful entry
passes for layups and shutting down Tech off-guard Brooke Lassiter.
Lassiter had 19 points in Saturday's 78-67 victory over Missouri
but was limited to seven points on three shots and three rebounds,
rarely getting an open look or an open lane to the basket.
"Connecticut just plays this game a little better than we do
now," coach Leon Barmore said. "The question all season was where
the scoring would come from. Our strength is our inside game, and
we went there and we went there, but defensively they just pushed
us off the ball."
Takeisha Lewis, who had 27 points and 17 rebounds Saturday, also
was a non-factor against UConn's relentless man-to-man defense,
finishing with seven points on 3-for-15 shooting and only four
rebounds.
The Lady Techsters' inability to get its stars open shots led
them to shoot only 28.6 percent, 16-for-56.
With Connecticut's defense forcing Louisiana Tech into a
succession of hurried or off-balance shots, the Huskies went on a
12-0 run to open the 13-point lead with 7:03 left in the first half.
At that point, the Lady Techsters – winners of 19 in a row since
losing to UConn – had made only of 4-of-20, and it didn't get much
better.
"I thought if we could keep it close to the 10-minute mark we
had a chance to pull an upset – it would have been a great upset –
because they do have a short bench," Barmore said. "So what they
did at the end of half was discouraging."
UConn and Louisiana Tech are two of the biggest names in women's
basketball, with a combined four NCAA titles, yet were meeting in
the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Auriemma and Louisiana
Tech's Barmore are the only men to coach an NCAA women's
championship team.
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ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
Louisiana Tech Clubhouse
Connecticut Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Diana Taurasi's no-look pass finds Kelly Schumacher for a UConn basket.
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Ayana Walker starts the Louisiana Tech fastbreak with a block and finishes with a basket.
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Diana Taurasi scores on an uncontested drive to the hoop in the final seconds of the first half.
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UConn's Tamika Williams beats the shot clock and is fouled in the process.
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 ESPN catches up with Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird after UConn's victory over Louisiana Tech.
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Coach Geno Auriemma credits UConn's defense with setting the tone throughout the game.
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