HARTFORD, Conn. — Sarah Miles scored 18 points to lead No. 9 West Virginia over Rutgers 56-49 in the Big East semifinals Monday night.
Asya Bussie added 10 points for the Mountaineers (28-4), setting up a matchup with top-ranked and undefeated Connecticut in Tuesday’s final. The Huskies beat Notre Dame 59-44 in the first semifinal, recording a record 71st straight win.
Khadijah Rushdan led Rutgers (19-14) with 12 points and Monique Oliver had 11. The loss snaps a four-game winning streak that likely put the Scarlet Knights into the NCAA tournament.
The Mountaineers used a 12-3 run in the second half to build a 12 point lead, and held on from there.
The trip to the finals is West Virginia’s first since it lost to UConn 50-44 in 2006.
Monday’s battle between two of the leagues top defensive teams lived up to its billing.
Both West Virginia and Rutgers shot just over 36 percent from the field and combined for 33 turnovers, 18 by Rutgers.
The game was tied at halftime, but the Mountaineers used a 9-0 run over five minutes in the second half to go up 38-31 lead.
The 12-3 run pushed that to 52-40 with 6 1/2 minutes left.
Rutgers responded with a trapping press, and cut the deficit to six points twice. A free throw by Monique Oliver with 33.5 seconds left made it 55-49.
Rushdan missed a jump shot that would have cut the lead to four, and Miles hit a free throw for the game’s final point.
Rutgers led early, before a pair of baskets from Miles, including a 3-pointer, sparked a 9-0 run that put the Mountaineers up 15-8 midway through the first half.
It was just 19-10 when Madina Ali converted a three-point play with just over seven minutes left.
The Mountaineers scored just one more field goal in the half, and didn’t score another point until Ali hit two foul shots with 52 seconds left.
In between, Rutgers went on a 11-0 run, sparked by a 3-pointer from Brittany Ray.
The teams went into halftime tied at 25.
West Virginia has held 26 of its 32 opponents to fewer than 60 points, and Rutgers is now 2-11 this season against ranked teams.
This was the 50th meeting between the two schools. Rutgers leads the series 38-12, but is 6-6 against West Virginia since Mike Carey became coach.
West Virginia won the first meeting between the two teams, 55-51 on Feb. 16. in Morgantown.
Connecticut beat West Virginia 80-47 on the same court on Feb. 2.
*****
RUTGERS (19-14)
McCurdy 2-2 0-0 4, Lee 2-8 3-6 7, Rushdan 4-11 4-4 12, Speed 1-4 2-2 4, Ray 2-8 0-0 5, Wheeler 0-1 0-0 0, Sykes 2-6 0-0 4, Junaid 1-2 0-0 2, Oliver 4-7 3-4 11. Totals 18-49 12-16 49.
WEST VIRGINIA (28-4)
Campbell 3-9 2-2 8, Ali 1-6 4-5 6, Bussie 3-6 4-6 10, Miles 7-15 2-4 18, Repella 2-10 0-1 5, House 2-3 0-0 5, Richards 0-1 0-0 0, Burton 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 20-55 12-18 56.
Halftime—Tied 25-25. 3-Point Goals—Rutgers 1-9 (Ray 1-3, Speed 0-1, Rushdan 0-2, Sykes 0-3), West Virginia 4-15 (Miles 2-6, House 1-2, Repella 1-4, Campbell 0-3). Fouled Out—Bussie. Rebounds—Rutgers 34 (Lee 7), West Virginia 37 (Ali, Campbell 7). Assists—Rutgers 9 (Rushdan 5), West Virginia 5 (Miles 2). Total Fouls—Rutgers 18, West Virginia 16. A—9,334.
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