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UConn Routs USF 79-42

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The Associated Press

Published: March 8, 2009

HARTFORD, Conn. - Villanova coach Harry Perretta joked that he's given Connecticut permission to "kick the crap" out of his squad in the Big East semifinals.

Perretta knows the Wildcats might not have much say in the matter. It's what UConn seems to do to everybody.

Kalana Greene scored a season-high 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds Sunday, and the top-ranked Huskies rolled over South Florida 79-42 in the quarterfinals.

Greene, whose previous high was 17 against Rutgers on Monday, had 18 by halftime when UConn led 47-10. She hit nine of her 10 shots from the field.

Greene missed last season's tournament with a torn ACL, something she said is motivation.

"I missed a lot of basketball last year, so I'm trying to make up for it this year, not taking anything for granted," she said. "I know the Big East Tournament is going to be a lot of momentum for the NCAA Tournament, so I'm trying to start now."

Maya Moore, the conference player of the year, had a double-double in the first half and finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds in 27 minutes. Tina Charles added 15 points and Kaili McLaren had 13 for the Huskies (31-0), who are seeking their 15th conference tournament title and second in a row.

Janai Stokes led eighth-seeded South Florida (22-10) with 15. Jazmine Sepulveda, who tied a tournament record with eight 3-pointers in the Bulls' second-round win against Cincinnati, attempted just two shots and didn't score Sunday.

Connecticut started fast, and a lob pass from McLaren to Moore made it 20-1 with just more than 12 minutes left in the first half.

South Florida didn't get a field goal until Porche Grant hit a layup with just more than 9 minutes left in first half to make it 25-5. The Bulls were just 3-for-24 from the field before intermission while the Huskies had runs of 10-0, 10-0 and 13-0.

The 10 points were the fewest the Huskies had ever allowed in one half of a Big East Tournament game.

"It's tough to get out in transition when you're getting the ball out of the net every time," said South Florida coach Jose Fernandez. "That hurt us. We're a transition basketball team."

UConn, which beat South Florida 83-37 in Tampa on Jan. 6, held the Bulls to 29 percent shooting and improved to 8-0 against them. The Huskies shot 50 percent, and outrebounded South Florida 51-19.

"The past couple of games, the coach reminded us at a timely point, we kind of got outrebounded," Moore said. "It was kind of a mind-set that we wanted to come into the game and not have it three games in a row."

The Huskies earned their 21st consecutive trip to the semifinals, where they will play Villanova. The Wildcats beat No. 20 Notre Dame 58-47 earlier Sunday.

Tampa Claims SSC Crown

FORT LAUDERDALE - For the third time in four seasons, the University of Tampa won the Sunshine State Conference Tournament, defeating Rollins 55-29 Sunday.

The win - which puts the Spartans into the NCAA Division II Tournament - was a school-record 12th in a row and a school-record 25th of the season.

Tampa is seeded third and faces Clark Atlanta in Friday's opening round of the South Regional in Cleveland, Miss.

Tampa junior Tiara Cook - named to the all-tourney team - recorded her second double-double in as many days, getting 14 points and 11 rebounds and adding a career-high seven blocks.

Tourney MVP Gianna Messina led the Spartans (25-5) in scoring with 16.

NO. 3 OKLAHOMA 74,

NO. 15 TEXAS 62

AUSTIN, Texas - Danielle Robinson scored 17 points for No. 3 Oklahoma (27-3, 15-1), and the Big 12 champions ended the regular season with a win vs. No. 15 Texas (20-10, 8-8).

NO. 4 MARYLAND 92,

NO. 8 DUKE 89

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Marisa Coleman had 28 points and 15 rebounds, Kristie Toliver added 24 points and No. 4 Maryland captured its first Atlantic Coast Conference title in 20 years with an overtime victory against No. 8 Duke .

A day after ending North Carolina's four-year ACC title reign, the Terrapins (28-4) likely locked up a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament by holding off the Blue Devils (26-5) in the biggest game between the teams since the 2006 NCAA final.

NO. 22 VANDERBILT 61,

NO. 6 AUBURN 54

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Christina Wirth scored 20 points as No. 22 Vanderbilt (24-8) beat No. 6 Auburn (29-3) to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 87,

RUTGERS 82

Angel McCoughtry scored 35 points, including seven in the second overtime, and No. 7 Louisville (28-3) held off Rutgers (19-12) in the Big East quarterfinals.

NO. 12 OHIO STATE 67,

PURDUE 66

INDIANAPOLIS - Ohio State's Jantel Lavender made one of two free throws with 6.2 seconds left, giving the 12th-ranked Buckeyes (27-5) a victory against third-seeded Purdue (22-10) in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.

VILLANOVA 58,

NO. 20 NOTRE DAME 47

Laura Kurz had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Villanova (19-12) beat No. 20 Notre Dame (22-8) in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

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