ND women KO Uconn, face Baylor in final

DENVER — A rebuilding year for Connecticut nearly turned into a remarkable one.

It still might go down as one of the most memorable for coach Geno Auriemma. Once the pain subsides, that is, and he has time to reflect.

The young and pesky Huskies rallied to force overtime Sunday night before Big East rival Notre Dame pulled away for an 83-75 victory in the NCAA semifinals. Notre Dame will face Baylor, a 59-47 winner over Stanford, in Tuesday night’s final.

Even in what was supposed to be a season of transition, Uconn remained a serious title threat right down to the wire.

For the second straight year, though, Connecticut had to watch the Irish celebrate a trip to the championship game as it trudged off the court in tears.

After a late comeback, Uconn (33-5) unraveled in overtime as Brittany Mallory hit two clutch 3-pointers to help lift the Irish (35-3).

“We put ourselves in a position to win the game,” Auriemma said. “The last two minutes, minute and a half of regulation, were pretty amazing. As most games do, it turned on one great play by a great player.

“In overtime, we didn’t have enough. We took a chance on making it difficult, but Mallory made two huge shots. That’s who we wanted to take the shots . . . and she made them.”

Coming into the game, the Huskies were highly motivated after losing to the Irish, 72-63, at the Final Four last year.

But with sophomore center Stefaine Dolson in foul trouble for a good portion of the second half and senior guard Tiffany Hayes largely held in check, Uconn simply ran out of steam in overtime. With less than four seconds remaining in regulation, Hayes dribbled the length of the court and passed to Long Island’s Bria Hartley, who couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer.

“We feel frustration,” Uconn junior guard Kelly Faris said. “This was the same thing as last year.”

BAYLOR59, STANFORD 47:

Brittney Griner notched 13 points and nine rebounds to lead the unbeaten Lady Bears over the Cardinal.

Baylor (39-0) is one victory from becoming the seventh team to finish unbeaten and has a chance to be the first team in NCAA history to win 40 games in a season.

Baylor and Notre Dame met in the preseason WNIT final, with the Lady Bears winning in Waco, 94-81, on Nov. 17.

Stanford (35-2) fell short in the Final Four for the fifth straight season, ending its school-record 32-game winning streak.