By The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – What a great day to be a Spartan.

Shortly after the men reached the Final Four on Sunday with a dramatic double-overtime victory over Kentucky, Kristin Haynie had a triple-double and led Michigan State’s women past Vanderbilt 76-64 in the semifinals of the Kansas City Regional.

Haynie, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, had just two points in the first half that was mostly dominated by the Commodores. But she finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the second triple-double in the program’s 32-year history.

The top-seeded Spartans (31-3), who never even reached the round of 16 in five previous tournaments, scored 18 of the first 21 points of the second half. They are now a win away from the women’s Final Four. The Spartans are coached by former Maine coach Joanne P. McCallie.

Liz Shimek, their top scorer who was held without a point in the first half, got the blitz started with a layup. Lindsay Bowen then followed with a long 3-pointer.

Rene Haynes stole a pass and drove in for a bucket, and the stunned Commodores (24-8), who led 37-30 at the break, could not regroup until the Michigan State lead reached 57-44 on Laura Hall’s second straight basket.

Dee Davis finally stopped the Michigan State surge when she hit a 3 for Vanderbilt with 9:40 left. But the Spartans made 18 of 29 second-half shots, and the closest the Commodores came until the final minute was 61-55 when Ashley Earley sank two free throws at 6:29.

Rutgers 64, Ohio State 58

PHILADELPHIA – Rutgers let Ohio State All-American Jessica Davenport get her points, but shut down the rest of the Buckeyes with tenacious defense.

Cappie Pondexter scored 24 points, and Rutgers turned 15 Ohio State turnovers into 22 points in posting a 64-58 victory on Sunday.

Freshman Matee Ajavon added 14 points, and Chelsea Newton had 13 for the Scarlet Knights, who came into the game limiting opponents to 50.8 points.

Tenn. 75, Texas Tech 59

PHILADELPHIA – Tennessee’s Shyra Ely is one win away from a happy homecoming.

Ely scored 23 points and led the top-seeded Lady Vols into their 20th regional final with a 75-59 win over Texas Tech.

Ely can’t wait to get there. The 2001 Indiana Miss Basketball from Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis has set a goal of playing her final game in her home state.

The Vols used a smothering defense to shut down the fourth-seeded Lady Raiders (24-8) and help coach Pat Summitt build on her NCAA record with her 881st career victory.

Stanford 76, UConn 59

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Women’s basketball will have a new champion this year – finally. Connecticut’s remarkable run is over.

Stanford made all the right plays down the stretch and got 21 points from freshman sensation Candice Wiggins to beat Connecticut 76-59 on Sunday night in the semifinals of the Kansas City Regional.

It was the Huskies’ earliest exit since they lost to Iowa State in the regional finals in 1999. Since then they had gone 30-1 in the tournament.

until running into a Stanford team that showed the same grit that has carried UConn to so many victories through the years.

Stanford (32-2), ranked No. 1 but only the No. 2 seed in the regional, moves on with a 23-game winning streak and is just a victory from its first Final Four trip since 1997. The Cardinal will play top-seeded Michigan State, a 76-64 winner over Vanderbilt, in the regional final Tuesday night.

They got there with a strong second half against the game’s most dominant program.

The Cardinal (32-2) erased a six-point halftime deficit by starting the second half with a 6-0 run, then went ahead to stay with a 16-5 burst midway through the half.

Wiggins, Susan King Borchardt and Sebnem Kimyacioglu each made a 3-pointer during that critical stretch, Wiggins added a 15-foot jumper and T’Nae Thiel converted a three-point play, making it 54-46 with 7:18 to play.

There was still enough time for Connecticut to make one more run, but it never happened. The Huskies got it down to 58-53 on Ashley Battle’s 3 with 4:42 remaining, only to have Stanford deliver the fatal blows.

First it was a 3-pointer by Borchardt, then a 3 by Wiggins, who came on strong after a terrible first half. That made it 64-53 with 31/2 minutes to play and the end was near for the Huskies. They couldn’t come up with any miracle plays on the floor and coach Geno Auriemma couldn’t conjure up any more sideline magic.

As the final seconds ticked away, the Connecticut players sat glumly on the bench and Auriemma stood with his hands on his hips, a look of resignation on his face. He started toward the Stanford bench to shake hands with coach Tara VanDerveer even before the final buzzer sounded.

AP-ES-03-27-05 2349EST