Connecticut Upends Irish

Overcoming the loss of Shea Ralph, Sue Bird made a jumper with 5.1 seconds left to lift No. 2 Connecticut to a 78-76 victory over No. 1 Notre Dame on Tuesday night in the Big East tournament final at Storrs, Conn.

“Our players worked so hard to win that game,” said Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma. “We went with who we had out there and what we had available.”

The Huskies (28-2) lost Ralph, who likely tore a ligament in her left knee, late in the first half. Team doctors confirmed the ligament damage and will schedule an MRI.

It’s the eighth consecutive tournament title for the Huskies, who avenged a Jan. 15 loss to the Irish (28-2).

Bird finished with a team-high 15 points. Tournament most valuable player Diana Taurasi, a freshman from Chino Don Lugo High, scored 14 points for the Huskies before fouling out. Notre Dame’s Ruth Riley had a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds.

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Sun Belt--Ayana Walker scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds to lead No. 6 Louisiana Tech to a 67-55 victory over Denver at Mobile, Ala. The victory gave the Lady Techsters (25-4) their sixth consecutive conference tournament title. Denver fell to 24-6.

Big 12--Danielle Crockrom had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 24 Baylor past Kansas State, 60-44, at Kansas City, Mo., to advance to today’s quarterfinals. Kristen Rethman led the Wildcats (12-16) with 12 points. The Bears (21-7) will play Iowa State.

Texas (20-11) also advanced, using a 14-0 run at the start of the game to take command in a 77-60 victory over Nebraska (12-18). Texas will play Texas Tech today.

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NCAA Women Qualifiers

Schools that have gained NCAA women’s tournament automatic bids by virtue of conference tournament championships, with exception of the Ivy League and Pacific 10--the only conferences that don’t conduct tournaments:

School: Conference

Austin Peay: Ohio Valley

Chattanooga: Southern

Connecticut: Big East

Duke: Atlantic Coast

Georgia: Southeastern

Iowa: Big Ten

Liberty: Big South

Long Island: Northeast

Louisiana Tech: Sun Belt

Oral Roberts: Mid-Continent

Pennsylvania: Ivy League

St. Mary’s: West Coast

Siena: Metro Atlantic Athletic

Tulane: Conference USA

Xavier: Atlantic 10