OKLAHOMA CITY — Freshman Whitney Hand is doing all she can to bring Oklahoma the national title Courtney Paris guaranteed.
Hand set career highs with 22 points and eight rebounds, and the top-seeded Sooners rolled to a 70-59 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday to reach the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in school history.
Oklahoma (31-4) put the game away with a 20-2 second-half surge that included a wild, right-handed scoop shot by Hand that bounded its way into the basket. The Sooners were hardly bothered by foul trouble that kept Paris off the court much of the game, getting double-digit scoring from all five starters.
Shavonte Zellous scored 18 points to lead Pitt, which lost in the round of 16 for the second straight year.
Oklahoma, which made its only other regional final appearance in 2002 on its way to the national championship game, will face sixth-seeded Purdue (25-10) on Tuesday.
UConn 77, Cal 53
TRENTON, N.J. — It took almost a half for the UConn express to get rolling. Once it did, Cal couldn’t stop it.
UConn freshman Tiffany Hayes scored a career-high 28 as the undefeated Huskies beat fourth-seeded California to advance to their 14th regional final in the last 16 seasons.
The Huskies (36-0) will face Arizona State on Tuesday. UConn has entered the NCAAs unbeaten three other times. UConn won the national championship in 1995 and 2002. In 1996-97, the Huskies lost to Tennessee in the regional final.
Ashley Walker scored 21 to lead California (27-7).
Arizona State 84, Texas A&M 69
TRENTON, N.J. — The Sun Devils played a near perfect game in upsetting the second-seeded Aggies, advancing to the second regional final in school history.
ASU (26-8) shot a season- high 62 percent, got points from nine players, including 22 by Briann January, and did all the little things, winning the hustle plays and frustrating its opponent with four or five baskets at the shot clock.
The Associated Press
