Senior defender Kathleen Frank headed No. 15 Connecticut into the Big East tournament championship with a goal in the 106th minute of the semifinal match Friday against No. 19 West Virginia.

The Huskies had gradually asserted control of the mostly dull match before Jennifer Sullivan's corner kick found Frank to clinch the 1-0 win in double overtime. Connecticut needed overtime and penalty kicks to get past Rutgers in the quarterfinal round.

"We didn't play well in the first half. We started playing better as the game was going on," said Connecticut head coach Len Tsantiris. "We had the run of the play, and eventually we got the goal."

The referee denied the Huskies a penalty kick in the 83rd minute when freshman forward Brittany Taylor appeared to be tripped from behind on a breakaway. Just a minute earlier, Taylor had cut past a defender at the edge of the 18-yard box only but directed her shot too close to Mountaineer goalkeeper Lana Bannerman.

West Virginia's best chance came midway through the first half. Deana Everrett pounced on a defensive lapse and found herself isolated with Huskies goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe, who charged out to cut down the angle and blocked the shot.

"I'm proud of how our girls came out and battled," said West Virginia head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. "Unfortunately we just didn't capitalize on our opportunities, so it was a good learning experience for us for the NCAA tournament."

Connecticut had previously defeated West Virginia 2-1 during the regular season.