Duke is bigger than UConn at almost every position. In the case of 6'7" widebody Alison Bales, intimidatingly, uncontestably bigger.

Last night Bales and Duke used size well. The result: 22 more rebounds. +14 in O-boards. 20 free throws (in 28 tries) to UConn's five (in nine). 15 points, 13 boards, and eight blocks for Bales alone.

With numbers like those, you'd expect an easy Duke win. But Duke's guards shot atrociously, UConn contested everything, and the Huskies held the Blue Devils a few dozen points below their per-game norm. Montgomery, Turner and Crockett scored just enough clutch baskets, and Mel Thomas' short jumper with 12 seconds left meant overtime.

Then the pain came. Turner-- the tourney's best player on Sunday, and UConn's best option for most of last night-- developed bad, then really bad, and then completely debilitating leg cramps. Hobbled or benched for all of the extra frame, she had to come out for UConn's final possession: by then she could hardly stand.

Down by two, the Huskies got the ball instead to Charde Houston, 0-for-5 on the night. Her defender fell down, but her unchallenged six-footer rolled around the rim, then fell out. Duke is going to Boston.

Almost everyone had Duke as a heavy favorite. Geno's defensive coaching looks better than ever. Turner ought to be moving up some draft boards (the same ones Strother has moved down). And yet... Duke is going to Boston.

For Turner, it was a new low after Sunday's new high. "I was just trying to compete as hard as I could," she said. "I tried to go until I couldn't go any more."

For Duke, vindication... of sorts, though their history of tournament chokes still haunts them. Mo Currie: "We stuck together at the end. We didn't fall apart."

Coach G: "It was not pretty... Things did not go well for us, and I give Connecticut credit for that. At the same time, we did what was necessary to win."

Duke student Andrew Yaffe says students-- famously obsessive about the men's game-- will finally pay attention to their women's team.

Jeff Jacobs says the game felt like bad hockey, with long scoreless stretches and everything up to the refs.

For Bales, though, the night was sweet. "I have complete confidence in my defense," she explained. "I've been blocking shots since I can't remember... Now, I know what I can get away with and what I can't."

UPDATE: DTS' neat eyewitness account says the refs made bad calls, but the Huskies themselves lost the game.