With the men's tournament perennially boasting Cinderella runs and unexpected nail-biters, the women's side finally followed suit this year, as a No. 13 seed advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and a No. 7 seed moved on to the Elite Eight.
But two No. 1 seeds ultimately survived the storm, halting any George Mason-esque runs in their tracks, as No. 1 Tennessee, No. 1 UNC, No. 3 LSU, and No. 4 Rutgers all received the Final Four nod.
The nation's best did not fail to disappoint in this week's Elite Eight action, as Tennessee sophomore forward Candace Parker, North Carolina forward Erlana Larkins and teammate Ivory Latta all notched 20-plus-point performances to advance their teams to penultimate round.
With 29 points and 10 rebounds in the Tar Heels' 84-72 win over No. 2 Purdue Tuesday night, Larkins earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the Dallas Regional. Latta added 21 points in the effort, helping lead her team to the Final Four for the second-straight year.
Parker was another star who stepped up this week, with a 24-point, 14-rebound effort Tuesday against seventh-seeded Ole Miss that led the No. 1 Lady Vols to a 98-62 thrashing over the Rebels. Playing just 25 minutes, Parker also tallied three assists, three steals and five blocks to her already monstrous performance.
Larkins and Parker will now have a chance to face each other, with the two No. 1 seeds squaring off in Final Four action on Sunday night. Larkins will be a lot to handle, as she scored 20 of her 29 points in the lane, adding to a Tar Heel team that scored a total of 52 points in the paint against the Boilermakers. Parker, meanwhile, will represent an experienced and hungry squad, as the Lady Vols will make their program's 17th appearance in the Final Four and will be seeking the team's first National Championship in nine years.
Whoever wins the battle of the top seeds will face the winner of the No. 4-seeded Rutgers and the No. 3-seeded LSU, both of whom advanced with Monday night wins. Riding a one-point upset of the tournament's No. 1 seeded Duke, a game in which senior ACC Player of the Year and ESPN.com's Women's Basketball Player of the Year Lindsey Harding missed two free throws with 0.1 seconds left on the clock, Rutgers faced-off with No. 3 seeded Arizona State in Elite Eight action. Sophomore Kia Vaughn turned in stellar play for the Scarlet Knights, posting 17 points and 10 rebounds on the night, as Rutgers took the match-up convincingly, 64-45.
This will be only the second ever Final Four appearance for Rutgers, which boasts a young team of five freshmen and no seniors. Junior Matee Ajavon provided all the leadership the Scarlet Knights would need, adding 20 points and five rebounds of her own to the winning cause.
The Scarlet Knights will prepare for No. 3 LSU, which tore apart No. 1-seeded UConn Monday night, 73-50. Lady Tigers junior center Sylvia Fowles used all of her six-foot-six figure to rack up 23 points and 15 rebounds in the most lopsided tournament loss the Huskies have suffered in the last 15 years. In addition to her points and rebounds, Fowles added six blocks and kept UConn, which handed her own Lady Tigers a 72-71 loss earlier in the regular season, completely off balance.
The Huskies failed to help their own cause, shooting a mere 33 percent from the field. UConn got no closer than 10 points over the final 26 minutes of the game.
The Lady Tigers, who have made their Final Four run despite head coach Pokey Chatman's abrupt resignation right before the start of the tournament, will now face this year's Cinderella team, the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. Rutgers will have to silence a Lady Tiger team that is on fire, in addition to containing Fowles under the basket.
Sunday's Final Four will begin at 7 p.m., when the Scarlet Knights take on the Lady Tigers. The match-up between the two No. 1 seeds will follow with North Carolina playing at Tennessee at 9:30 p.m. The winners will play for the National Championship on Tuesday night.
