Connecticut 79, Virginia Tech 56

3/22/2006 1:07 AM

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Connecticut's star seniors came up big to get the Huskies back to the NCAA regional semifinals in a familiar place: back in their home state.

Ann Strother had 22 points and six 3-pointers, and Barbara Turner dominated inside with 18 points and 16 rebounds as the second-seeded Huskies routed No. 7 seeded Virginia Tech 79-56 on Tuesday night in the tourney's second round.

The win sends the Huskies (31-4) into the regional semifinals for a 13th straight season.

They got there after being sent on the road for opening-round tournament games for the first time in school history. The Huskies blew out Coppin State in the first round on Sunday before beating the Hokies.

Coach Geno Auriemma thanked his two stars.

``In these types of pressure environments, I got to tell you, I'm really, really happy for these two in particular,'' Auriemma said after the game as Strother and Turner looked on. ``This is as much of a complete game as we've had in a long, long time.''

Now, they stand a good shot at getting to a ninth Final Four because the Huskies will play their next game, against Georgia, in Bridgeport, Conn., about a 90-minute drive from the UConn campus in Storrs.

``We're really, really excited,'' Strother said about going close to home for the next round. ``But it really doesn't matter where we play right now.''

UConn led by double digits for most of the game thanks to a pivotal 20-2 run in the first half that included three 3-pointers, and seven turnovers by Virginia Tech (21-10). Renee Montgomery's layup gave UConn a 29-10 lead with 8:19 left in the first half.

``We were flat, we didn't play well,'' Virginia Tech coach Beth Dunkenberger said. ``We got into a situation where shots weren't falling for us, and we got frustrated.''

The Hokies mounted a late first-half rally after Dawn Chriss hit a couple buckets and Laura got a layup to narrow the deficit to 41-32 at halftime. Virginia Tech momentarily slowed down UConn by going to a zone defense.

However, UConn came out strong to open the second half. Strother spotted up for a 3, then blocked a layup attempt by the Hokies' Carrie Mason from behind that led to a transition bucket for Mel Thomas.

Strother then hit another 3 over Chriss to give the Huskies a 53-40 lead. Looking dejected, Chriss shook her head and looked at the floor as she ran back upcourt.

Chriss finished with 16 points before fouling out, while Kerri Gardin had 16 points and eight rebounds and Carrie Mason added 13 points but had six turnovers. The trio, along with Megan Finerty, are among four senior starters on Virginia Tech who have been to the tournament every year of their career.

``Coming in as a freshman, I wanted to come to a program where I could help build on to it, and I think I have accomplished that over the past four years,'' said Mason, whose grew up uin Seneca, Pa., about 2 1/2 hours from State College.

The game was so well in hand that Auriemma pulled Strother from the game with just over 5 minutes left and his team up 30. Turner left the game 3 minutes later, getting a hug from her coach before she took a seat.

``Fair or unfair, at Connecticut it's not good enough just to win. There's a perception that if we don't go to the Final Four, it's a bad season,'' Auriemma said. ``I want the players to understand that the one constant in our program, is that we want to make sure we play hard and have fun.''

UConn figures to return to more fan-friendly crowds after having to play the first two rounds at the Bryce Jordan Center. Auriemma said he didn't mind the away games much because it eliminated some distractions.