COLLEGE BASKETBALL

WIGGINS, STANFORD STOP UCONN TO REACH FINAL

The bigger the stage, the better Candice Wiggins performs.

Wiggins continued her electrifying run through the NCAA tournament, scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while getting some timely help from Kayla Pederson and JJ Hones as Stanford shocked Connecticut 82-73 in last night’s national semifinals. Back in the Final Four for the first time in 11 years, the Cardinal 35-3) avenged an early season loss to the Huskies (36-2) and advanced to Tuesday night’s title game, where they’ll put a 23-game winning streak on the line against Tennessee or LSU. Wiggins, the first player to have two 40-point performances in the same NCAA tournament, finished five assists shy of the first triple-double in women’s Final Four history.

BASKETBALL

CHANDLER SCORES 23 POINTS; KNICKS END LOSING STREAK

Rookie Wilson Chandler scored a season-high 23 points, Zach Randolph added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Knicks snapped a five-game losing streak with a 100-90 victory over the Orlando Magic last night.

Fred Jones and David Lee added 13 points apiece for the Knicks, who won for just the third time in 20 games. The other two victories were against Miami, making this their first win over a team other than the league-worst Heat since beating Charlotte on February 27. Following an 0-5 road trip, the Knicks played at home for the first time since hiring Donnie Walsh as president of basketball operations last Wednesday. Walsh was not at the game, and Isiah Thomas refused to say if they have spoken yet about the coach’s future with the organization. Hedo Turkoglu scored 22 points for the Magic, who will now have the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.