Women: Huskies back atop Big East

By wire services
Published March 9, 2005

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HARTFORD, Conn. - Connecticut is back atop the Big East.

Led by the inside-outside combination of Barbara Turner and Ann Strother, the No. 13 Huskies defeated No. 9 Rutgers 67-51 Tuesday night to win the Big East tournament.

Turner, the tournament MVP, anchored a dominating inside game for UConn, which was back in the title game for the first time since 2003.

The three-time defending national champs led by as many as 21 points in the first half.

NO. 1 STANFORD 56, ARIZONA ST. 42: Tournament MVP Candice Wiggins had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Cardinal, which earned a third straight Pac-10 tournament title late Monday in San Jose, Calif.

NO. 18 IOWA ST. 64, COLORADO 62: Lyndsey Medders made a winning 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left for the Cyclones in the first round of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo. Colorado's Ceal Barry finished her coaching career at 427-241 after 22 seasons with the Buffaloes.

OTHER CONFERENCES: Chrissy Givens tied her career high with 18 points to lead Middle Tennessee State past Louisiana-Lafayette 67-52 in Denton, Texas, for its second straight Sun Belt title. ... Elisha Turek had 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead Oral Roberts past Missouri-Kansas City 48-42 for the Mid-Continent Conference title in Tulsa, Okla.