Wed Apr 2 00:07:34 2008

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Huskies handle Rutgers, head to Final Four

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Greensboro, NC (Sports Network) - Ketia Swanier scored 15 points, hitting six straight free throws in the final minute, to help lead the UConn Huskies to a 66-56 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the NCAA Tournament's Greensboro Regional Final at Greensboro Coliseum.

Also scoring 15 points for top-seeded UConn (36-1) was Renee Montgomery, while Kaili McLaren tacked on 10 points. Tina Charles recorded nine points and a team-best 12 rebounds and Maya Moore, who became just the second freshman ever named to the Associated Press All-America First Team earlier in the day, got by with a mere seven points, five rebounds and five steals as she was named the region's most outstanding player.

With the victory the Huskies will take on Stanford in one of the semifinal bouts in Tampa on Sunday night, with the winner of that meeting playing for the national title versus either LSU or Tennessee on Tuesday.

The second-seeded Scarlet Knights (27-7) were paced by Matee Ajavon with a game-high 18 points and four assists, but she shot just 8-of-23 from the floor and was responsible for eight of the unit's 16 turnovers. Essence Carson posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards, followed by Kia Vaughn with 11 points.

Shooting just 1-of-10 from three-point range in the first half, UConn found itself trailing by double digits midway through the frame and was down by 14 points with five minutes left in the period before cutting the deficit to just five at the break, 32-27.

A layup by McLaren at the 6:47 mark of the second half gave the Huskies their first lead of the game at 48-46. Down the stretch UConn made good on eight unanswered free throws and 14 attempts at the charity stripe overall, en route to the 10-point comeback win.

For the game Rutgers was outscored at the line, 19-3, and the team's reserves were topped by the Huskies backups, 17-2.

These two Big East Conference foes met twice during the regular season, with Rutgers handing the Huskies their only loss of the campaign, 73-71, on February 5 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J. A month later UConn responded with a decisive 66-46 victory over the Knights at home.