HARTFORD, Conn. --There are bigger names on the Pitt women's basketball team than junior Xenia Stewart, but Panthers coach Agnus Berenato always has insisted that Stewart is the one player who must play well for her team to have a chance to win.

And that's mostly because Stewart is the team's designated defensive stopper.

Yesterday, however, Stewart again proved her worth, but it was with her shooting not her defense as she made two huge 3-pointers in the final minutes of the Panthers' surprising, 64-53 upset win against No. 9 Notre Dame in a Big East women's basketball tournament quarterfinal at the XL Center. It was only Pitt's second win in 19 games against the Irish.

Pitt (22-9) will next play No. 1 Connecticut (30-1) at 6 tonight in a semifinal. The Huskies, who defeated DePaul, 86-67, in a quarterfinal yesterday, beat the Panthers, 90-64, Feb. 20 at the Petersen Events Center. Connecticut has won 11 of the past 13 Big East tournament titles.

Stewart's first big shot broke a 41-41 tie with 6:36 to play, but her second one came with 54 seconds left to give the Panthers a five-point lead and seal the win. In between, she had two assists and a steal, which are the kinds of contributions she is used to making.

"Usually it is Mallorie [Winn] that takes those shots, but we really wanted to beat this team today," said Stewart, who scored 13 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and had 4 assists.

"We needed to get something going and I didn't feel like I was contributing like the rest of my team, so I was just getting open looks and taking the shots. I was just trying to play big for my team because I knew that they needed me, and ultimately my teammates helped me out."

Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said that the Irish couldn't overcome Stewart's shots because they were so unexpected and came at such crucial times.

"To end on a note like this, the last two games [the Irish also lost their regular-season finale] is really disappointing for us after all the hard work we've put in throughout the year," McGraw said.

"I thought our defense was pretty good in the first half, but Xenia Stewart was the difference in the game. She hit those two 3s, and I thought that was the game. We lost it right there when she made that second 3."

The Irish (23-8), the highest-ranked team the Panthers have beaten, pounded the Panthers, 81-66, in their first meeting this season, but yesterday couldn't get their offense on track. McGraw said a big reason for that was the Panthers played almost exclusively man-to-man in the first meeting, but yesterday switched a lot between zone and man.

Still, things didn't look good for Pitt early as Notre Dame jumped to a 14-2 lead in the first nine minutes. Once the Panthers settled down -- and their shots started falling -- they methodically grinded away until they tied the score, 17-17, on a jumper by freshman Taneisha Harrison with 4:36 to play before halftime.

The Panthers trailed, 22-21, at the half. The second half remained close almost the entire way with Notre Dame's Erica Williamson's layup tying the score, 51-51, with 2:29 left.

From that point on, however, it was all Pitt. The Panthers took the lead for good on the next possession on Marcedes Walkers' layup, then Stewart hit the second of her two big 3-pointers to give the Panthers a 56-51 lead. Pitt finished the game by making 8 of 10 free throws in the final minute.

"The game started out really tough, but we really believed we could play with Notre Dame, and my players really responded and showed what kind of champions they really are," Berenato said.

"I thought our team, from the seniors down to the freshmen had tremendous character and grit. And I thought these two ladies [Stewart and Walker] were soldiers today, they carried us today and were as solid as a rock."

Walker led the Panthers with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

"And I preach about Xenia all the time. She is our unsung hero, the glue to our team, and today she had the courage to step up and take those 3s. Xenia is absolutely our X-factor."