Purdue's Kelly Komara steals from Amy Waugh. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With its injured point guard watching from the bench, Purdue got strong games from its three Final Four veterans to end Xavier's tournament run with an 88-78 victory Monday night.

        Kelly Komara played a superb game filling in for point guard Erika Valek, Camille Cooper was strong inside and All-American Katie Douglas hit two critical 3-pointers while battling through an off night shooting, then secured the victory in the Mideast Regional final with near-perfect free-throw shooting.

        “Kelly Komara was huge for us,” Douglas said. “Just talking to Kelly before the game, she was ready to play. She provided a huge spark for us. Thank God she was there in the first half because I sure wasn't.”

Injured guard Erika Valek and coach Kristy Curry celebrate in the final moments of the game. | ZOOM |

        Douglas, Komara and Cooper all played on the Purdue team that won the 1999 national championship. They'll lead the Boilermakers against Southwest Missouri State in the national semifinals Friday night in St. Louis. Southwest Missouri State beat Washington 104-87 in the West final in Spokane, Wash.

        Komara, selected the regional's outstanding player, was forced to move from shooting guard to the point after Valek tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee while Purdue (30-6) was beating Texas Tech on Saturday.

        She responded with 20 points on 6-for-12 shooting, five assists and four steals.

        “I think my game relies a lot on confidence,” said Komara, who scored 14 points in the first half. “If I start fast, the game just flows.”

Komara cuts down the net. | ZOOM |

        Douglas, 3-for-13 from the field, finished with 19 points after scoring only two in the first half, Cooper added 16 and Shereka Wright 14. Shalicia Hurns had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

        “They were beating us in our zone defense and beating us on the baseline,” Xavier coach Melanie Balcomb said. “That's something we wanted to take away. We didn't take it away from them and they took advantage of it.”

        Purdue becomes the first school to reach the Final Four under three coaches. Lin Dunn took the Boilermakers in 1994 and Carolyn Peck guided them to their title in 1999. This trip is coming under Kristy Curry, in her second season as coach.

        “We're not talking about just going to the Final Four,” Curry said. “We want to win. We've got some unfinished business.”

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