Associated Press
The womenís roundup …
PHILADELPHIA ó The final seconds ticked down, and Duke was set for a celebration. The Blue Devils will get a blockbuster sequel they believe has a better ending than the original
The Blue Devils get a second straight shot at winning a regional final ó and a rematch with top-seeded UConn to show how far theyíve come since an embarrassing loss in January.
Karima Christmas had 23 points and nine rebounds, Jasmine Thomas scored 19 points and the Blue Devils beat DePaul 70-63 on Sunday to reach the regional final for the second straight year.
Duke (32-3) earned a rematch against top-seeded Connecticut on Tuesday night with the Final Four at stake. Maya Moore scored 29 points as UConn surged to a 41-15 halftime lead in an 87-51 win over Duke on Jan. 31.
ěThat game, we, I canít even explain what happened in the first half,î Christmas said. ěIt just kind of put us in a place where we didnít want to be and didnít expect to be.î
The second-seeded Blue Devils did expect a return to the regional final a year after they were bounced out by Baylor. Theyíve won nine straight games and are a win away from their first Final Four since 2006.
ěItís really a lot of fun,î Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. ěItís not something you reflect on too much right now because youíve got a game coming up youíve got to get ready for.î
Chelsea Gray scored 16 points for the Blue Devils, who raced to a 15-point lead and had to hold on after the big advantage nearly evaporated late in the second half.
DePaulís Deirdre Naughton hit two 3-pointers in less than a minute that cut the lead to three each time, but Gray made four free throws in the final 22 seconds to set up Dukeís date with UConn.
Connecticut 68, Georgetown 63
PHILADELPHIA ó Maya Moore had 23 points and 14 rebounds to help Connecticut rally from a seven-point second half deficit.
Bria Hartley added 17 points for UConn (35-1), which is now three victories away from a third straight national championship that would match the school’s own run from 2002-04 and Tennessee’s from 1996-98.
This was the third meeting between the two Big East teams in the past 30 days. UConn won the first two games by double digits.
Texas A&M 79, Georgia 38
DALLAS ó Danielle Adams had 23 points and 14 rebounds and Texas A&M built a 31-point halftime lead on the way to a win over Georgia on Sunday and a spot in the Dallas Regional final. Texas A&M (30-5) led 13-0 and was up 27-2 with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half.
Baylor 86, Wisconsin-Green Bay 76
DALLAS ó Brittney Griner had another big game, got some help from Baylor’s freshman point guard, and the top-seeded Lady Bears ended any chance for Wisconsin-Green Bay to have a Butler-like finish.
Griner had a career-high 40 points with 10 rebounds, and combined with Sims to score all the points in the game-clinching 14-0 spurt.