UConn, Notre Dame, Stanford, Texas A&M Advance To Women’s Final Four

The 2011 Women’s NCAA Tournament Final Four field is set and the cream rose to the top in the Elite Eight. Two No. 1 seeds survived to advance to the Final Four, along with two No. 2 seeds as the favorites prevailed for the most part. The UConn Huskies are back again, looking for a third-straight NCAA Championship. No. 1 seed Stanford and No. 2 seeds Notre Dame and Texas A&M round out the 2011Women’s Final Four.

UConn made it look easy throughout the tournament, blowing out opponents left and right while only being test once in a five-point win over Georgetown. In the Elite Eight, the Huskies ran circles around No. 2 seed Duke, breezing to a 75-40 win to secure a spot in the Final Four for the fourth consecutive year. Connecticut’s cup runneth over this year, with both the men’s and women’s teams in national semifinals.

Texas A&M was impressive throughout, jumping out to a 32-21 halftime lead. The Aggies stretched their lead in the second half, pushing it to 16 at one point before Baylor made its inevitable run to cut the deficit to seven. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Aggies used a late run to thwart Baylor and advance to the Final Four.

Sydney Carter scored a game-high 22 points for the Aggies and was joined in double-figures by Sydney Colson (12) and Tyra White (10). Brittney Griner, Baylor’s all-everything sophomore, finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks to lead the way for the Bears. Melissa Jones was also in double-figures with 13 points.

Maya Moore led the Huskies with 28 points and 10 rebounds, as she’s known to do. She also added seven steals to fall just a few integers shy of a triple double. That is a hell of a lot of steals. I may have used integers correctly.

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Stanford is heading to its fourth straight Final Four after the one-seed Cardinal ended Gonzaga’s surprising run with a 83-60 romp in the Spokane Regional final on Monday night.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike dominated the paint with 23 points and 11 rebounds while her sister Chiney added 18 points.

Tennessee becomes the first No. 1 seed to fall in the 2011 Women’s NCAA Tournament falling 73-59 to the No. 2 seed Notre Dame. The Irish got 24 points from Skylar Diggins while snapping Tennessee’s 25 game winning streak.

Notre Dame (30-7), connected on 45% of their shots from the field while also limiting Tennessee to just 33% shooting. The game wouldn’t have been as close as it was without the decided advantage the Lady Vols held on the boards. Tennessee out rebounded Notre Dame 43-29 including 19 offensive boards. Pat Summitt’s club just simply couldn’t put the ball in the basket at the worst possible time.

The fifth-seeded Phoenix (34-2) were led by Kayla Tetschlag who delivered with 27 points and 10 rebounds, but she also turned the ball over seven times and had to avoid picking up her fifth personal foul in the second half. Celeste Hoewisch accounted for 20 points and six assists as the team saw its 25-game win streak come to an end.

Baylor will play Texas A&M on Tuesday, March 29 for the right to go to the Final Four.

The Texas A&M Aggies defeated the Georgia Lady Bulldogs in a blowout, 79-38. The Aggies jumped out to a 13-point lead and built it to a 31-point lead at halftime, 48-17. The Lady Bulldogs were able to keep the score relatively in check during the second half, though still outscored, 31-21.

Texas A&M hit 10-of-20 three-point shot and shot 43.8 percent from the field. They outrebounded Georgia, 44-34. Danielle Adams led the Aggies with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Tyra White and Sydney Colson added 14 points and 11 points, respectively. Eight bench players were used, and Adrienne Pratcher and Karla Gilbert each added nine to the scoreboard.

For a while, it looked like two-time defending champion UConn would suffer a shocking defeat in the Sweet 16 of the Women’s NCAA bracket. The Huskies trailed No. 5 seed Georgetown by seven points midway through the second half, but the Huskies eventually rallied, going on a 16-2 run to wrest control and eventually hold on for a 68-63 win.

Georgetown held a 53-46 lead with 9:36 remaining before UConn stepped up its intensity. The Huskies held Georgetown to just one field goal over the next six and a half minutes in a decisive run. The Hoyas rallied again late as UConn got sloppy, but it wasn’t quite enough to get back in front.

It was the Courtney Vandersloot show once again for the Bulldogs. Vandersloot had a complete game, finishing with 29 points, five rebounds, seven assists and seven steals. Janelle Bekkering had 15 points, Kelly Bowen had 12 and Katelan Redmon had 10 points for the Lady Zags. Shoni Schimmel had a team-high 18 points for Louisville in the loss.

Gonzaga’s Cinderella run continues on Monday with the first Elite Eight appearance in school history. The Bulldogs will play either Stanford or North Carolina.

Tennessee is the first team to advance to the Elite Eight in the 2011 Women’s NCAA Tournament bracket. The top-seeded Volunteers were challenged by No. 4 Ohio State, but managed to eventually pull away for a 85-75 victory in the Sweet 16. Tennessee will next face the winner of Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma in the Elite Eight on Monday.

Ohio State led by two points at halftime and trailed by just one point with 11:30 to go, but Tennessee was able to hold the Buckeyes off despite numerous challenges. The Volunteers ended the game on a 23-15 run in the last eight and a half minutes to get the win.

Upsets finally made an appearance in the 2011 Women’s NCAA Tournament on Tuesday as higher seeds fell in bunches. However, the No. 1 seeds in action all moved on as Baylor and Connecticut both booked tickets into the Sweet 16 of the Women’s March Madness. A few other high seeds won’t be joining them after falling in the round of 32.

Louisville, a No. 7 seed, Georgetown, a No. 5 seed, and Oklahoma, a No. 6 seed, all pulled off upsets on Tuesday to join the No. 1 seeds in the Sweet 16. Georgia made it four, knocking off No. 3 seed Florida State, 61-59.

The 2011 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament finally saw some upsets after a bracket composed largely of chalk, Underdogs Louisville, Oklahoma, and Georgtown punched their tickets to the Sweet 16, along with UConn, who’s not about to sneak up on anybody any time soon.

No. 1 UConn, which stomped No. 9 Purdue 64-40, and No. 5 Georgetown will play each other next after the Hoyas beat No. 4 Maryland, 79-57. That’s not really all that big of an upset, but you take what you can get in this bracket. The two Big East teams will square off in Philly on March 27.

Tennessee basketball has at least one thing to take joy in despite a rough day overall, as the No. 1 Lady Vols outlasted No. 8 Marquette, 79-71, in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Women’s Tournament. They’ll advance to the Sweet 16 in Dayton, where they’ll square off against No. Ohio State.

The Buckeyes took down No. 5 Georgia Tech 67-60 after trailing at the half. In the Philadelphia region, No. 2 Duke topped No. 10 Marist 71-66 to meet No. 3 DePaul, who beat No. 6 Penn State 75-73.

Unsurprisingly, defending champion and No. 1 seed Connecticut had little trouble in its opening-round Women’s NCAA Tournament game. The Huskies jumped ahead of No. 16 seed Hartford early, taking a 40-17 halftime lead and eventually winning, 75-39.

Maya Moore led a host of players in double figures with 12, as the Huskies outrebounded Hartford by a staggering 47-23 margin. The Huskies will next face the winner of Kansas State vs. Purdue on Tuesday.

The first batch of games in the Women’s NCAA Tournament are complete and Tennessee and Georgia Tech are moving on the Dayton region while Penn State and Marist advance out of the Philadelphia region.

Tennessee got off to a fast start hammering Stetson 99-34. Shekinna Stricklin scored led the way for the Lady Vols with 15 points. All 13 Lady Vols scored in the game. Tennessee advances where they will play the winner between Marquette and Texas.

Georgia Tech overcame a slow start to defeat Bowling Green 69-58. Sasha Goodlett led the Jackets with 19 points. The Lady Jackets will play the winner of the game between Ohio State and Central Florida.

In the Philadelphia Region, Penn State moves on in the tournament with a 75-66 victory over Dayton. Alex Bentley led all scorers with 25 points. The Lady Lions will take on the winner of the match up between Depaul and Navy.

The only upset of the opening set of games was No. 10 seeded Marist defeating No. 7 seed Iowa State 74-64. Marist built a 15 point lead at the half and Iowa State couldn’t overcome the margin in the second. Kate Oliver led the Red Foxes with 16 points. Marist advances to play either Duke or Tennessee-Martin in the second round.

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Philadelphia Region

No. 1 Connecticut Huskies vs. No. 16 Hartford, Sun., noon in Storrs

No. 8 Kansas St. Wildcats vs. No. 9 Purdue Boilermakers, Sun., 2:30 in Storrs

No. 5 Georgetown Hoyas vs. No. 12 Princeton, Sun., 2:30 in College Park

No. 4 Maryland Terrapins vs. No. 13 St. Francis, Sun. noon in College Park

No. 6 Penn St. Nittany Lions def. No. 11 Dayton, 75-66

No. 3 DePaul vs. No. 14 Navy, Sat., 1:30 in University Park

No. 10 Marist, def. No. 7 Iowa St Cyclones, 74-64

No. 2 Duke Blue Devils vs. No. 15 Tennessee-Martin, Sat., 1:30 in Durham

Dayton Region

No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers def. No. 16 Stetson, 99-34

No. 8 Marquette Golden Eagles vs. No. 9 Texas Longhorns, Sat., 1:30, Knoxville

No. 5 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets def. No. 12 Bowling Green, 69-58

No. 4 Ohio St. Buckeyes vs. No. 13 UCF, Sat., 1:30, Columbus

No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 11 James Madison, Sun., 2:30, Charlottesville

No. 3 Miami Hurricanes vs. No. 14 Gardner-Webb, Sun, noon, Charlottesville

No. 7 Arizona St. Sun Devils vs. No. 10 Temple Owls, Sat., 4, Salt Lake City

No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. No. 15 Utah Utes, Sat., 6:30, Salt Lake City

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The 2011 Women’s NCAA Tournament is scheduled to begin March 19, with its Final Four and championship game set for Indianapolis’ Conseco Fieldhouse. The 64-team bracket was unveiled on ESPN’s selection special Monday night.

The 2011 Women’s NCAA Tournament bracket, complete with schedule, game times, and locations (all times pm and EST):