By: Robert Jamieson

The Xavier Musketeers have advanced to the 2001 NCAA Tournament Mideast Regional Championship, more popularly known as the Elite Eight, with a 80-65 win over the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers Saturday.

The Musketeers will play the Purdue Boilermakers for a chance to earn a Final Four berth in St. Louis. Xavier would potentially play the winner of Washington and the Cinderella team Southwest Missouri State.

Xavier never trailed in the second half, but the Volunteers never made it easy.

With 10 minutes remaining Tennessee forced the 11th and final tie of the game before the Musketeers responded with a 12-2 run to put the game away. Amy Waugh led the charge with five points and two assists during the run.

Nicole Levandusky led Xavier with 19 points in the game. Jennifer Phillips chipped in with 17 points while Reetta Piipari and Tara Tuukkanen each contributed with six assists and eight rebounds respectively.

The fourth-seeded Musketeers will face the 3rd ranked Purdue Boilermakers with the coveted Final Four spot on the line.