Huskies prevail after spotty play

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Asjha Jones scored 16 points, and No. 1 Connecticut overcame some spotty play to beat Seton Hall 78-48 Sunday in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.

Diana Taurasi added 14 points, and Sue Bird 13 as the Huskies (31-0) won their 25th straight conference tourney game. They'll play fourth-seeded Villanova in Monday's semifinals.

Melissa Langelier had 13 points for Seton Hall (15-14), which has lost 16 straight games against the Huskies and 31 of 32.

Connecticut put Sunday's game away by opening the second half with a 20-6 run. Swin Cash, who finished with 11 points, had five points and Jones had four as the Huskies took a 61-27 lead.

No. 2 Stanford 71, Oregon St. 55

EUGENE, Ore. -- Nicole Powell scored a career-high 37 points as No. 2 Stanford stayed untouchable in the Pac-10, advancing to the conference tournament's championship game with a victory over Oregon State.

The Cardinal (30-1) swept all 18 regular-season Pac-10 games for the fourth time in school history, and they won the first two games of the inaugural conference tournament by a combined 51 points.

Stanford will play third-seeded Arizona State, which defeated Oregon 64-58, in Monday night's title game.

Freshman Juleen Smith had 26 points and nine rebounds, both season highs, to lead Oregon State (16-14).

Powell also had 14 rebounds. No other Stanford player scored in double figures, but Bethany Donaphin had 12 rebounds, and T'Nae Thiel added 10.

No. 4 Duke 71, Virginia 67

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Alana Beard had 20 points as No. 4 Duke overcame poor second-half shooting in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals.

Duke (26-3), which has won a school-record 17 games in a row, will face No. 2-seeded North Carolina in Monday's championship.

The two-time defending ACC champions withstood a frantic rally by the Cavaliers (17-12), who cut a 16-point deficit with 3:43 left to three. Virginia had a chance to tie, but Liz Sahin was called for a double dribble with 4.1 seconds to play.

Indiana 55, No. 7 Purdue 41

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jill Chapman scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Heather Cassady added 13 points as fifth-seeded Indiana beat No. 7 Purdue, advancing to its first Big Ten tournament championship game.

The Hoosiers (16-13) will face Penn State, which defeated Wisconsin 76-62 Sunday night.

The Boilermakers (23-5) lost for the second straight year as the tournament's first seed. A year ago, they lost to Iowa in the championship game.

Indiana had lost nine straight to Purdue, last winning Jan. 25, 1998.

No. 19 North Carolina 58, N.C. State 52

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Nikki Teasley scored 14 points and Candace Sutton added 12 as No. 19 North Carolina rallied to beat North Carolina State in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

The Tar Heels (24-7) advanced to Monday's championship where they will face top-seeded and fourth-ranked Duke in a rematch of the 2000 final.

The sixth-seeded Wolfpack (14-15), who upset third-seeded Clemson on Saturday, struggled once the Tar Heels upped their defensive pressure and increased their tempo early in the second half.

A 3-pointer by Amy Simpson gave the Wolfpack a 36-24 lead with 15:35 to play. From there, North Carolina held the Wolfpack scoreless for the next 6:17 to take a 37-36 lead.

Syracuse 84, No. 21 Notre Dame 79

PISCATAWAY. N.J. -- Leaf Newman scored 11 points in a 24-4 spurt and Syracuse stunned No. 21 Notre Dame in the biggest upset in the Big East Conference women's tournament since 1996.

Jaime James had 23 points and Newman added 19 as the No. 7-seeded Orangemen (18-11) ousted the defending national champions and gave themselves a shot at their first NCAA tournament berth since 1988.

The No. 2 seeded Irish (19-10) got 29 points from Alicia Ratay.

The upset was the biggest in the conference tournament since No. 13 seeded Pittsburgh beat No. 5 seed Villanova, and No. 7 seed Seton Hall beat No. 2 seed Providence in quarterfinal games.

No. 23 Cincinnati 78, Houston 74

CHICAGO -- Valerie King scored 31 points and No. 23 Cincinnati survived the loss of second-leading scorer Debbie Merrill to injury, beating Houston in the semifinal round of the Conference USA tournament.

The Bearcats will play Tulane, which upset No. 25 Texas Christian, on Monday.

Merrill sustained a cut on her forehead in a collision with teammate Laura Wilder in the first half. Merrill did not return to the game. Wilder returned late in the first half.

Brittani Young added 16 points for the Bearcats (25-4). Chandi Jones led Houston (22-7) with 21 points.

Tulane 80, No. 25 TCU 76, OT

CHICAGO -- Teena McKiver scored 23 points and Sarah Goree scored seven points in overtime as Tulane defeated No. 25 Texas Christian in the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament.

The Green Wave (23-9) go for their fourth straight tournament title when they play Cincinnati on Monday.

The Lady Frogs (23-6) were led by reserve Candace Baldwin, who scored a career-high 19 points.

and sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left. Sandora Irvin grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.