Katie Gearlds and Purdue made it the most competitive of the Elite 8 games, but it was not enough to stop Erlana Larkins and North Carolina from making their second consecutive trip to the Final Four.

Gearlds hit two three pointers and assisted on a Jodi Howell basket that had the Boilers within four with 6:48 left in the game. But the Tar Heels answered with a 7-0 run that put the game out of reach. "I left it all out there, but I didn't do enough for my team to win," Gearlds said.

Larkins did do enough for the Tar Heels to win, in a dominating performance with a career high 29 points. According to teammate Rashanda McCants, "That's Erlana. That's Erlana at her best. She could even play better. I'm just glad she's on my team. I really am, because she has the heart of a champion."

And Larkins just proved to be too much for Purdue to deal with.