Iowa State finally gave the NCAA women's basketball tournament an upset worth talking about.
Playing in the round of 16 for the first time, Iowa State stunned top-seeded Connecticut 64-58 Saturday in the Mideast Regional at Cincinnati, Ohio.The fourth-seeded Cyclones won it by finding their trademark 3-point shooting touch down the stretch and they're now just one victory from the Final Four. Iowa State had never even played in the NCAA tournament before 1997.
"That's our game. We've been shooting a lot of 3s the whole year," said Stacy Frese, Iowa State's main 3-point shooter. "We weren't hitting them at the beginning of the game. It was a matter of percentages. It was a matter of time before we started hitting."
It was Connecticut's first loss in a regional semifinal and came after the top 16 seeds in the tournament all had survived the first two rounds.
"You feel like you got kicked in the gut," Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said. "It hurts."
Connecticut, which led the nation in scoring and field goal percentage, shot only 30 percent against Iowa State's zone defense. Iowa State, also struggled to score until getting hot at the end.
RUTGERS 53, TEXAS TECH 42: At Normal, Ill., Tomora Young scored 15 points and Rutgers held Texas Tech scoreless for the first 8:54 en route to a victory.
With Rutgers (29-5) seemingly covering every spot on the floor with its matchup zone, Texas Tech (30-4) missed its first eight shots and never got into any offensive rhythm.
MIDEAST
IOWA ST. 64, CONNECTICUT 56: Stacy Frese hit two of Iowa State's five 3-pointers during a 15-5 run that put the Cyclones (25-7) over the top. Iowa State had missed 16 of 19 3-point shots before connecting when it counted.
Monica Huelman, Tracy Gahan and Megan Taylor also hit 3-pointers as Iowa State took a four-point lead with 2:22 left. Connecticut (29-5) couldn't rally as it did in the second round against Xavier and Iowa State finished it off with free throws.
GEORGIA 67, CLEMSON 54: Only one of Georgia's twins came through, but that was enough for the Lady Bulldogs to move on.
Kelly Miller scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Georgia (26-6) rallied from a seven-point deficit, then took control with a 10-0 run midway through the second half. Leading 44-43, Clemson went scoreless for six minutes and never recovered.
EAST
TENNESSEE 68, VIRGINIA TECH 52: Known for its explosive offense, Tennessee (31-2) relied on suffocating defense to keep alive its dream of winning a fourth consecutive national championship.
Chamique Holdsclaw scored 27 points and Tennessee forced 25 turnovers while holding Virginia Tech to its lowest point total of the season. Injured guard Semeka Randall came off the bench to spark a 16-0 first-half run that broke it open after Virginia Tech (28-3) had led 18-17.
DUKE 76, OLD DOMINION 63: Duke (27-6) scored 20 points off 21 turnovers and set a school record for victories in reaching the final eight for the second straight year.
Nicole Erickson scored 16 of her 24 points in the second half to lead the third-seeded Blue Devils, who shot 57 percent and made 21-of-24 free throws.
WEST
LOUISIANA TECH 73, LSU 52: At Los Angeles, Amanda Wilson scored 27 points, and reserve Betty Lennox had 17 of her 19 in the first half as Louisiana Tech overpowered instate rival Louisiana State.
The win was the 21st straight for Tech (29-2), which will face the winner of the Colorado State-UCLA game, played later Saturday, on Monday night for the regional championship and a berth in the Final Four.