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Monday, Mar. 27 12:00pm ET
Stringer takes third team to Final Four

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Rutgers' stifling defense won another game for the Scarlet Knights, and this one helped coach C. Vivian Stringer take yet another team to the Final Four.

Shawnetta Stewart scored 22 points as second-seeded Rutgers physically dominated top-seeded Georgia to claim the West Regional championship with a 59-51 victory Monday night.

Rutgers (26-7) will play Tennessee, the winner of the Mideast Region, in the national semifinals on Friday in Philadelphia. Rutgers is 2-7 all-time against Tennessee.

While the Scarlet Knights had never been to the Final Four, it's old hat for Stringer. She is the only women's coach to take even two teams to the Final Four -- Cheyney State in 1982 and Iowa in 1993.

Kelly Miller and her twin sister Coco each scored 15 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs (32-4).

Rutgers' Tammy Sutton-Brown added 14 points before fouling out with 2:35 left.

An off-balance, turnaround jumper by Stewart helped the Scarlet Knights break a 39-all tie and take the lead for good with 9:41 to go. Stewart finished the 9-0 run with a 3-pointer to make it 48-39 with 6:15 left.

It was team's fourth shot on a gritty possession that symbolized the game for the hard-working Scarlet Knights.

Kelly and Coco Miller hit consecutive 3-pointers to pull the Lady Bulldogs within 55-49 with 26.4 seconds left, but Rutgers hit its free throws to seal the win.

Rutgers had averaged 80 points a game in the first three rounds of the tournament, but shot just 38 percent and committed 15 turnovers.

Georgia shot 32 percent in the first half and scored a season-low 20 points. But amazingly the Lady Bulldogs trailed by just three at halftime, thanks to a scoring burst in the final 4½ minutes.

A 3-pointer by Coco Miller tied it at 7-all, but Georgia went the next 8:52 without a point. Rutgers' matchup zone gave the Lady Bulldogs fits and forced them to take bad shots deep into the shot clock.

Still, the Scarlet Knights had their own turnover problems and missed some easy chances inside. During Georgia's drought, Rutgers scored just 10 points for a 17-7 lead.

Then Georgia got hot. Kelly Miller hit a running bank shot, followed by an 18-foot jumper by Deana Nolan. Kelly Miller then hit two straight 3-pointers to pull Georgia to 19-17 with 2:28 left.

A long jumper by Nolan and one of two free throws by Shala Crawford cut the lead to 21-20, and Rutgers went ahead 23-20 on an inside bank shot by Kourtney Walton in the final seconds of the half.

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