NCAA women's Final Four: Connecticut, Syracuse cruise into championship game

Here's what happened on Sunday in the Final Four matchups of the NCAA women's basketball tournament: 

Connecticut will face Syracuse in the championship game on Tuesday. 

(1) Connecticut 80, (2) Oregon State 51

Morgan Tuck scored 21 points and Breanna Stewart added 16 to help UConn rout Oregon State in record fashion.

Hamilton, Ont., native Kia Nurse played 31 minutes and chipped in with nine points and five assists. 

The Huskies are one victory away from a fourth consecutive national championship fulfilling Stewart's goal. A feat never accomplished before in women's basketball.

If UConn does win on Tuesday night coach Geno Auriemma will have an 11th national championship moving him past vaunted UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden for the most all time.

The 29-point victory was the biggest margin of victory in women's Final Four history, surpassing the 28-point win by Tennessee over Arkansas in 1998. It was UConn's 74th consecutive victory, the second-longest winning streak in NCAA and school history.

Stewart wasn't much of a factor for the Huskies in the opening 20 minutes. The three-time AP player of the year picked up two quick fouls and didn't score her first points until she hit a turnaround jumper with 3 minutes left in the half. That basket came in the middle of a 15-2 run to close the opening 20 minutes.

She quashed any thoughts of an Oregon State rally, scoring 14 points in the second half for UConn (37-0). Just as they had done in the previous 73 games, the Huskies won by double digits.

Next up will be either Syracuse or Washington. Either team will have a very tall task in front of them to stop UConn's historic run. The Huskies have never lost in an NCAA title game.

Tuck was a big reason why UConn was able to build its big lead. Oregon State had 6-foot-6 center Ruth Hamblin guarding her for most of the first half. The Beavers' center was playing off her, daring Tuck to shoot from the outside. She had 10 of the Huskies first 15 points as UConn jumped out to a 15-6 advantage.

UConn led 32-24 after Jamie Weisner hit a 3-pointer with 5:33 left in the half. Then the Huskies took over.

(4) Syracuse 80, (7) Washington 59

Alexis Peterson scored 18 points and Brittney Sykes added 17 to help Syracuse roll past Washington and into their first women's national championship game.

And they made it look almost as easy the Huskies.

Washington was led by Talia Walton, who had 29 points and made a Final Four-record eight 3-pointers. The previous record of six was set by Katie Steding in the 1990 title game and matched in 2013 by Antonita Slaughter.

Kelsey Plum, the nation's No. 3 scorer, had 17 points.

Syracuse took a 23-12 lead after one quarter, extended the lead to 39-20 midway through the second quarter and never let the Huskies get within single digits again.