West Virginia coach Mike Carey was happy to beat Rutgers in the Big East semifinals. His goal for the finals: just compete with top-ranked Connecticut.
Sarah Miles scored 18 points and Asya Bussie added 10 to lead the ninth-ranked Mountaineers (28-4) over the Scarlet Knights 56-49 Monday night.
Khadijah Rushdan led Rutgers (19-14) with 12 points, and Monique Oliver had 11.
West Virginia’s win sets up a matchup between the tournament’s top seeds. The Huskies beat No. 6 Notre Dame 59-44 in the first semifinal, recording an NCAA record 71st straight win.
The finals are the Mountaineers’ first since they lost to UConn 50-44 in 2006.
“I told the girls after the game, we’re going to come tomorrow night to compete, we’re not coming to just show up,” Carey said. “As long as our girls compete and play hard, I’m going to be satisfied with that, win or lose.”
The Scarlet Knights find themselves squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble. The 14 losses would tie the most for any team with an at-large bid.
Coach C. Vivian Stringer has said the Scarlet Knights will not accept a bid to the WNIT if they don’t get invited to the NCAAs.
No. 5 XAVIER 57, TEMPLE 55, OT: Conference player of the year and tournament MVP Amber Harris tied a season high with 23 points, and Ta’Shia Phillips had a season-high 21 rebounds for the Musketeers in Upper Marlboro, Md.
Xavier (27-3) won its 18th straight game, third conference title in four years and an automatic NCAA bid.
Temple (24-8) is poised for an at-large berth. The Owls lost for only the second time in 11 games.
No. 18 GONZAGA 76, PEPPERDINE 48: Courtney Vandersloot scored 19 points and Heather Bowman added 14 as the Bulldogs rolled to their 17th straight victory, winning the West Coast Conference tournament final in Las Vegas.
Kayla Standish had 10 points for the Zags (27-4).
