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Women's NCAA
March 24, 2003
STORRS, Conn. -- Diana Taurasi had her game back and top-seeded Connecticut had the look of a winner again Sunday as the Huskies rebounded in a big way from their first loss in two years.
"We were ready to play. Everybody had the glance in their eye that we had to start playing well and it had to start today," said Taurasi, who scored 21 in UConn's 91-44 win over Boston University in the opening round of the East Region.
The junior All-American also had seven assists, shaking off the chronic ankle and back pain that has hampered her the past few weeks.
It has been nearly two weeks since Villanova snapped UConn's 70-game win streak with a 52-48 upset in the Big East tournament, enough time to heal mentally and physically.
"I think everyone hit a wall," Taurasi said. "A week and a half really helped us to regroup."
TCU 50, MICH. ST. 47: Grace Gantt scored seven of her 15 in the final eight minutes as the ninth-seeded Horned Frogs held off the Spartans in Storrs.
NOTRE DAME 59, ARIZONA 47: Alicia Ratay scored nine of her 20 in a 15-0 second-half run that lifted the 11th-seeded Fighting Irish (20-10) in Manhattan, Kan. The Wildcats (22-9) shot a season-low 23.3 percent (17-of-73).
KANSAS ST. 79, HARVARD 69: Kendra Wecker scored 21 and Nicole Ohlde 20 on 8-of-9 shooting as the third-seeded Wildcats (29-4) ended the Crimson's (22-5) 16-game winning streak in Manhattan.
VILLANOVA 51, ST. FRANCIS (PA.) 36: The Wildcats took advantage of two Red Flash scoring droughts to pull away in Norman, Okla.
Katie Davis scored 15 and Trish Juhline 12 for second-seeded Villanova (26-5), which hadn't played since March 11 when it ended Connecticut's 70-game winning streak.
St. Francis (23-8) is 0-7 in the NCAA Tournament.
PENN ST. 64, HOLY CROSS 33: Kelly Mazzante scored 27 as the fourth-seeded Nittany Lions (25-8) romped on their homecourt.
It took Mazzante almost seven minutes to make her first shot, a fadeaway 19-footer. After that she hit three fastbreak layups and a 3-pointer from the right wing during a 17-2 run that made it 28-7 with nearly six minutes left in the half. Holy Cross (24-8) never got closer than 22 in the second half.
S. CAROLINA 68, CHATTANOOGA 54: Christina Ciocan scored eight of her 18 during a 13-0 second-half run, lifting the fifth-seeded Gamecocks (23-7) in State College, Pa.
When Ciocan returned from foul trouble midway through the second half, Penn State trailed the Mocs (26-5) 49-48. Koretha Johnson made a free throw to tie it then Ciocan scored eight of the next 12.
GW 71, OKLAHOMA 61: Cathy Jones had 22 points, 14 in the second half when the seventh-seeded Colonials (25-6) held off a rally by the Sooners (19-13) in Norman.
DUKE 66, GA. STATE 48: The Blue Devils got off to a lackluster start.
Alana Beard scored 19 and Duke (32-1) set a school record for wins but struggled in Raleigh, N.C. Top-seeded Duke didn't get its first double-digit lead of the second half until more than midway through against the Panthers, the Atlantic Sun champions who had won 10 straight.
UTAH 73, DePAUL 64: Kim Smith scored 35 and the Utes (24-6) closed the first half with a 25-8 surge to beat the Blue Demons (22-10) in Raleigh. Smith, the Mountain West player and rookie of the year, had 23 points in the first half.
TEXAS TECH 67, SW MO. ST. 59: Plenette Pierson scored 25 and had 13 rebounds as the Red Raiders won in Lubbock, Texas. Second-seeded Texas Tech (27-5) built a six-point lead at halftime. It pushed its advantage to as much as 17 before fending off the 15th-seeded Bears (18-13) down the stretch.
UCSB 71, XAVIER 62: Mia Fisher scored 14 as the Gauchos (27-4) never trailed in Lubbock. The Musketeers (20-10) trimmed their deficit to 68-62 with 31.9 seconds left on a free throw by Amy Waugh. A free throw by Kristen Mann and two by Debby Caine sealed it.
LA. TECH 94, PEPPERDINE 60: Erica Smith scored 28 as the fifth-seeded Techsters (30-2) won their 28th straight and improved to 35-0 at home in the tournament.
Tamara McDonald scored 16 to lead Pepperdine (22-8), which was making its third tournament appearance in the past four years.
TEXAS 90, HAMPTON 46: Heather Schreiber scored 17 to help the second-seeded Longhorns (26-5) beat the Pirates (23-9) in Cincinnati for their 14th straight victory.
Schreiber played 19 minutes, four in the second half, as Texas gave several reserves extra playing time after leading 52-20 at halftime.
ARKANSAS 71, UC 57: Shameka Christon scored 13 in the second half to rally the seventh-seeded Razorbacks (22-10) in Cincinnati.
Christon sat out all but three minutes of the first half after picking up three quick fouls, and the Bearcats (23-8) led 32-28 at the break. But Dana Cherry, who had 18 points, gave Arkansas a 38-37 lead when she hit two free throws with 16:29 to play.
OHIO ST. 66, WEBER ST. 44: Kim Wilburn scored 19 as the fourth-seeded Buckeyes (22-9) advanced in Ruston, La., in their first NCAA appearance since 1999. The Wildcats (21-9) could not cope with the bigger Buckeyes, who outrebounded them 39-25 and shot 25-of-50.