honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, March 24, 2008

No. 1 Connecticut crushes Cornell, 89-47

 •  Tar Heels roll over Arkansas
Photo gallery: NCAA women's tournament
Photo gallery: NCAA men's tournament

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Connecticut's Maya Moore, left, and Charde Houston bottle up Cornell's Jeomi Maduka, the Ivy League's top player who had just seven points.

JESSICA HILL | Associated Press

spacer spacer

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — In the blink of an eye, Connecticut turned another first-round NCAA tournament game into a glorified layup line.

Maya Moore scored 17 points to lead a balanced offense and top-ranked UConn beat Cornell, 89-47, last night. At the first media timeout, the Huskies held a 7-5 lead and the 16th-seeded Big Red had to be feeling pretty good.

Then the Huskies did what they usually do to their first-round NCAA opponents.

"It happened so quickly, from a 7-5 lead to a lot to not so many," said Huskies coach Geno Auriemma, who celebrated his 54th birthday. "That's the way our team operates. We tend to go on runs like that."

Connecticut (33-1) meets Texas tomorrow in the second round of the Greensboro Regional.

"I think when we are running in transition, it's really hard to stop us from doing what we try to do," Moore said.

Houston added 14 points, Brittany Hunter had 11, and Renee Montgomery 10 as Connecticut shot 54 percent from the field.

"That's how we love to play," Montgomery said.

Allie Fedorowicz and Gretchen Gregg scored eight points each to lead Cornell (20-9).

After the 7-5 start, the Huskies went on a 22-2 run over the next 5 1/2 minutes to put the game away. UConn held Cornell without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes to extend its lead to 41-16.

TEXAS 72, MINNESOTA 55

Brittainy Raven scored 19 points as the Longhorns (22-12) rolled past the Golden Gophers (20-12). Emily Fox led Minnesota with 23 points.

At Norfolk, Va.

OLD DOMINION 82, LIBERTY 62

Shahida Williams scored 20 points on 10-for-11 shooting and the Lady Monarchs (30-4) beat the Lady Flames (28-4) to end a six-game losing streak in the NCAA tournament. Megan Frazee led Liberty (28-4) with 19 points.

VIRGINIA 86, UC SANTA BARBARA 52

Lyndra Littles scored 17 points and the Cavaliers (24-9) used a 16-0 run early in the second half to race past the Gauchos (23-8). Jessica Wilson led Santa Barbara with 13 points.

OKLAHOMA CITY REGIONAL

At West Lafayette, Ind.

TENNESSEE 94, ORAL ROBERTS 55

Freshman Angie Bjorklund hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points to lead the Lady Volunteers (31-2) to a rout of the Golden Eagles (19-14). Jenny Hardin scored 16 points for Oral Roberts, which lost its top scorer, Mariana Camargo, to a knee injury seconds into the game.

PURDUE 66, UTAH 59

Kalika France and FahKara Malone scored 17 points each as the Boilermakers (19-14) turned back the Utes (27-5). Leilani Mitchell had 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds for Utah.

NOTRE DAME 75, SMU 62

Ashley Barlow had 20 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, four steals and three assists, leading the Fighting Irish (24-8) past the Mustangs (24-9). Janielle Dodds and Jillian Samuels each had 15 points to lead SMU.

OKLAHOMA 69, ILLINOIS ST. 61

Courtney Paris had 12 points and 12 rebounds to extend her double-double streak to 91 consecutive games, and the Sooners (22-8) opened the second half with a 13-0 run before holding off the Redbirds (26-7). Kristi Cirone led Illinois State (26-7) with 22 points.

At College Park, Md.

DUKE 78, MURRAY STATE 58

Wanisha Smith scored 16 points and the Blue Devils (24-9) outrebounded the Racers (24-8) 48-29 to pull away. Ashley Hayes led Murray State with 26 points.

ARIZONA STATE 61, TEMPLE 54

Lauren Lacey scored 14 points, including two straight baskets that ignited a 13-point run to start the second half, as the Sun Devils (22-10) turned away the Owls (21-13). Ashley Morris led Temple with 21 points.

NEW ORLEANS REGIONAL

At Norfolk, Va.

NORTH CAROLINA 85, BUCKNELL 50

LaToya Pringle scored 19 points and the top-seeded Tar Heels (31-2) turned away the Bison (16-16). Lauren Schober led Bucknell with 13 points, but missed 12 of 16 shots.

GEORGIA 67, IOWA 61

Tasha Humphrey made a go-ahead turnaround jumper with 58 seconds left and Ashley Houts hit eight free throws in the final 41 seconds as the Bulldogs (23-9) beat the Hawkeyes (21-11). Kristi Smith led Iowa with 17 points.

At Bridgeport, Conn.

KANSAS STATE 69, CHATTANOOGA 59

Little-used reserve Kelsey Nelson scored a career-high 20 points to help the Wildcats (22-9) turn back the Lady Mocs (29-4). Laura Hall scored 19 points for Chattanooga.

LOUISVILLE 81, MIAMI (OHIO) 67

Chauntise Wright had 21 points and seven rebounds, and Angel McCoughtry added 20 points to carry the Cardinals (25-9) past the RedHawks (23-11). Amanda Jackson led Miami with 22 points.

SPOKANE REGIONAL

At College Park, Md.

MARYLAND 80, COPPIN STATE 66

Crystal Langhorne had 25 points and 12 rebounds, Marissa Coleman scored 17 and Laura Harper had 14 for the top-seeded Terrapins (31-3), who pulled away in the second half to oust the Eagles (22-12). Rashida Suber scored 25 points and Shalamar Oakley had 20 for Coppin State.

NEBRASKA 61, XAVIER 58

Kelsey Griffin matched a season-high with 26 points to help the Cornhuskers (21-11) hold off the Musketeers (24-9). Jerri Taylor led Xavier with 19 points.

• • •