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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Unless someone can figure out a way to solve Rutgers' defense, Scarlet Knights coach C. Vivian Stringer might take her third school to the Final Four.
Usha Gilmore scored 18 points and Rutgers pulled away in the final seven minutes to beat Alabama-Birmingham 60-45 Saturday night in the West Regional semifinals.
|  | | Rutgers' Linda Miles looks for room to pass around UAB's Mia Thrash. Miles contributed four points of the bench. |
Tasha Pointer added 11 points and nine assists as the No. 2-seeded Scarlet Knights (24-7) advanced to the round of eight for the second straight year and fourth time in school history.
"Their team just wouldn't go away," Stringer said. "It was a great test of our poise. It is a real tribute to our team that when we needed to execute, we did."
Stringer, in her fifth season at Rutgers, is the only coach to take two schools to the Final Four: Cheyney State in 1982 and Iowa in 1993.
Rutgers will play top-seeded Georgia, an 83-57 winner over North Carolina, on Monday for a spot in the Final Four. Rutgers has never advanced that far; Georgia has been five times.
Rutgers has held 15 opponents under 50 points this season. In their last two games, the Scarlet Knights have allowed just 29-percent shooting from the field, 19 percent from 3-point range.
Their only loss in the last nine games was to top-ranked Connecticut.
"We've played against some tough defense before, but this was one of the best," said UAB's Holly Holland, who scored three points on 1-of-6 shooting after scoring 21 against Mississippi State. "They caught us off-guard."
Deanna Jackson scored 17 points for 11th-seeded UAB (21-13), but she and the rest of the Lady Blazers couldn't hit their shots after pulling to within 44-43 with 7:18 to play.
"We all knew what needed to be done. We've been in this situation before," Pointer said.
A layup by Davalyn Cunningham started a 16-2 run to end the game. Three straight baskets by Shawnetta Stewart pushed the lead to 52-45 with 4:11 remaining. A baseline jumper by Gilmore, a bank shot by Karlita Washington and another jumper by Gilmore made it 58-45 with 45.8 seconds left.
"We were backing down, and this team has gone through too much to back down," Stringer said. "We knew we needed to expend a lot more energy and know what time it was."
UAB got this far by upsetting No. 6 seed Oregon and then No. 3 seed Mississippi State. The Blazers had lost their only tournament game before this season, in 1994.
"What a great ride," coach Jeannie Milling said. "You really hate for it to come to an end."
The Blazers looked overmatched from the start Saturday, trailing 8-0 on 3-pointers by Pointer and Stewart, and Rutgers peppered UAB with shorter jumpers the rest of the half.
After trailing by as many as 11, UAB pulled to 30-23 on a strong inside move by Michelle Smith and two free throws by Lisa Jackson, Deanna's older sister. The Blazers got a rebound in the final seconds, but Pointer stole it and scored just before the buzzer to give the Knights a 32-23 halftime lead.
Rutgers led by eight with 8:24 left before the Blazers ran off seven straight points, on a layup and 3-pointer by Deanna Jackson and two free throws by Brandi Stallings.
Deanna Jackson had totaled 52 points in the first two games but mostly was held in check by Rutgers, and her sister was unable to post up against the more athletic Scarlet Knights.
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ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
Alabama Birmingham NCAA Team Report
Rutgers NCAA Team Report
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Tasha Pointer makes the steal and layin.
avi: 640 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Deanna Jackson makes the 3 from the top of the arc.
avi: 568 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Shawnetta Stewart makes the move in the lane for the basket.
avi: 553 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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