UConn Beats Oregon State, Heads to National Championship Game

Morgan Tuck scored 21 points and Breanna Stewart added 16 to help UConn rout Oregon State 80-51 in record fashion Sunday night in the women's Final Four.

The Huskies are one victory away from a fourth consecutive national championship fulfilling Stewart's goal. A feat never accomplished before in women's basketball.

If UConn does win on Tuesday night coach Geno Auriemma will have an 11th national championship moving him past vaunted UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden for the most all time.

The 29-point victory was the biggest margin of victory in women's Final Four history, surpassing the 28-point win by Tennessee over Arkansas in 1998. It was UConn's 74th consecutive victory, the second-longest winning streak in NCAA and school history.

Stewart wasn't much of a factor for the Huskies in the opening 20 minutes. The three-time AP player of the year picked up two quick fouls and didn't score her first points until she hit a turnaround jumper with 3 minutes left in the half. That basket came in the middle of a 15-2 run to close the opening 20 minutes.

She quashed any thoughts of an Oregon State rally, scoring 14 points in the second half for UConn (37-0). Just as they had done in the previous 73 games, the Huskies won by double digits.

Next up will be either Syracuse, who beat Washington 80-59 in the second Final Four matchup Sunday night.  The Orange will have a very tall task in front of them to stop UConn's historic run. The Huskies have never lost in an NCAA title game.

Tuck was a big reason why UConn was able to build its big lead. Oregon State had 6-foot-6 center Ruth Hamblin guarding her for most of the first half. The Beavers' center was playing off her, daring Tuck to shoot from the outside. She had 10 of the Huskies first 15 points as UConn jumped out to a 15-6 advantage.

UConn led 32-24 after Jamie Weisner hit a 3-pointer with 5:33 left in the half. Then the Huskies took over.

About the only negative for UConn was that freshman Katie Lou Samuelson broke a bone in her left foot in the first half. She missed practice Saturday because she was feeling under the weather. She started on Sunday, scoring seven points in the first half in 17 minutes. She didn't come out of the locker room for the start of the second half, returning to the UConn bench early in the third quarter with a boot on her foot.

Oregon State's season came to an end. The Beavers won their first conference tournament title, and reached the Final Four for the first time. Not bad for a program that was in disarray six years ago.

Then coach Scott Rueck came in and the Beavers have been on the rise since.

Sydney Weise scored 13 points to lead Oregon State (32-5). Hamblin finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. She left with 1:25 left, getting a hug from Rueck.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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