Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS ó Even Maya Mooreís magic wasn’t enough for Connecticut this time.
Skylar Diggins scored 28 points and Notre Dame upset UConn 72-63 on Sunday night, ending the brilliant career of Moore and the Huskiesí quest for a third straight national championship.
Ten years after their last title, the Irish will be playing for another one Tuesday night against Texas A&M, which beat Stanford 63-62 in the first semifinal.
Notre Dame was 0-3 against its Big East rival this season but they had all the answers this time for the Huskies, who lost for just the second time in three seasons. Notre Dame had already beaten Tennessee in the NCAA tournament, ending a 20-game skid against the Volunteers. Now they have knocked out the two-time defending champions.
Moore finished with 36 points, including 12 straight as she tried to rally the Huskies from a 12-point deficit in the final 6 minutes, but it wasn’t enough.
Texas A&M 63, Stanford 62
INDIANAPOLIS ó Texas A&M has upset its second straight top-seeded team in the NCAA tournament and is heading to its first national championship game.
The Aggies (32-5) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final six minutes Saturday, winning it when Tyra White drove the length of the court to give Texas A&M the go-ahead layup and a 63-62 victory over Stanford.
It will face either 2001 national champion Notre Dame or two-time defending champ Connecticut in Tuesday night’s title game.
White finished with 18 points, and All-American Danielle Adams scored 16 for the Aggies.
Stanford (33-3) got 31 points from Nnemkadi Ogwumike and 11 from Jeanette Pohlen but blew the late lead and went home empty-handed from the Final Four for the fourth consecutive year.
The Cardinal were the first team in this year’s NCAA tournament to top 50 points against Texas A&M.