Beard Carries Duke

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —  All Duke needed to get back to the women’s Final Four was Alana Beard, and a great night on defense.

Beard scored 28 points as the top-seeded Blue Devils rallied to beat second-seeded Texas Tech, 57-51, Monday night in the Midwest Regional final.

Duke (35-1) will take its 15-game winning streak to Atlanta, where it will play Tennessee (32-4) in the national semifinals Sunday night. The Lady Vols advanced to their 14th Final Four with a 73-49 win over Villanova in the Mideast Regional final.

“Alana is an All-American, and it showed tonight,” Texas Tech freshman point guard Erin Grant said. “She’s the type of player that will put her team on her back and take them where they want to go.”

Duke struggled on offense through its first three games in the tournament and still hasn’t scored more than 66 points. The shooting problems continued Monday night, but the Blue Devils made up for it with defense and Beard’s court savvy and clutch scoring.

Besides scoring nearly half of Duke’s points, Beard had eight rebounds, four blocks and three steals. Her three-point play with 1:55 left broke a 51-51 tie, and Duke forced three turnovers by Texas Tech (29-6) in the final minute. With Duke ahead, 54-51, Iciss Tillis blocked a shot by Tech’s Plenette Pierson with 30 seconds left to ensure the Blue Devils’ third trip to the Final Four in the last five years.