Moore, UConn roll into women’s NCAA regional semis

STORRS, Conn. -- Maya Moore ran off the court at Gampel Pavilion one final time, arms raised triumphantly, almost embarrassed as the crowd serenaded her with chants of "Maya, Maya."

"It felt awkward," she said later. "I usually don't like that kind of individual attention because I play a team sport. I appreciate it."

The senior All-American scored 16 points, and Connecticut put on a defensive clinic in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Tuesday night, beating ninth-seeded Purdue 64-40 to advance to the regional semifinals for the 18th consecutive season.

Moore and fellow senior Lorin Dixon became the only players to finish their UConn careers perfect at home. They went 40-0 at Gampel Pavilion, their on-campus arena, and also went unbeaten at their other home court, the XL Center in Hartford.

The victory, in the Philadelphia Region, was UConn's 22nd straight overall and 83rd in a row at home.

Tiffany Hayes scored 23 points to lead the Huskies (33-1), who have the longest active streak of advancing out of the NCAA Tournament's second round. They'll face Big East rival Georgetown on Sunday.

Drey Mingo scored nine points to lead Purdue.

■ Georgetown 79, Maryland 57 -- At College Park, Md., Sugar Rodgers scored a career-high 34 points, and fifth-seeded Georgetown breezed past the fourth-seeded Terrapins (24-8) to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 1993.

The Hoyas (24-10) bolted to an 11-0 lead, made it 40-26 at halftime and increased the margin to 23 points with 16:23 left.

DALLAS REGION

■ Baylor 82, West Virginia 68 -- At Waco, Texas, Brittney Griner had 30 points despite missing the final nine minutes of the first half because of foul trouble, and the top-seeded Bears dropped the ninth-seeded Mountaineers (24-10) to reach the round of 16 for the sixth time in eight years.

The Bears (33-2) had a 14-point lead and Griner had 10 points when she picked up her second foul, but West Virginia managed to trim that deficit to only 11 by halftime.

■ Wisconsin-Green Bay 65, Michigan State 56 -- At Wichita, Kan., Adrian Ritchie scored 20 points off the bench, Julie Wojta added 18, and the fifth-seeded Phoenix beat the fourth-seeded Spartans (27-6) to advance to the regional semifinals for the first time.

The Phoenix (34-1) extended their winning streak to 25 games.

■ Georgia 61, Florida State 59 -- At Auburn, Ala., Jasmine James scored on a putback with 2.1 seconds left, then made the subsequent free throw to lift the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (24-8) over the third-seeded Seminoles.

The Seminoles (24-8) didn't have a field goal in the final 10 minutes.

■ Texas A&M 70, Rutgers 48 -- At Bossier City, La., Danielle Adams had 28 points and 11 rebounds, and the second-seeded Aggies (29-5) rolled into the third round of the tournament with an easy win over the seventh-seeded Scarlet Knights (20-13).

SPOKANE REGION

■ Louisville 85, Xavier 75 -- At Cincinnati, Shoni Schimmel scored a career-high 33 points, leading a late comeback that helped the seventh-seeded Cardinals (29-12) knock off the second-seeded Musketeers, who were playing on their home court.

Xavier (29-3) had no answer for Schimmel, who rallied the Cardinals from a seven-point deficit with 5:58 left.

DAYTON REGION

■ Oklahoma 88, Miami 83 -- At Charlottesville, Va., Danielle Robinson scored six straight points to break open a tie game, and the sixth-seeded Sooners held on to beat the third-seeded Hurricanes (28-5).

Whitney Hand scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Sooners (23-11), and former Bishop Gorman High School standout Aaryn Ellenberg had 13 points.