Devine divine as BU routs UMBC
Boston University's Kasey Devine was unstoppable yesterday.
She scored a career-high 26 points on 13-for-16 shooting, grabbed 4 rebounds, blocked a shot, and had 3 steals.
Behind her early 8 points on 4-for-4 shooting, the Terriers jumped out to a 15-5 lead en route to an 88-59 pasting of UMBC (9-21) in the America East quarterfinals in West Hartford.
BU amassed school records for points and assists (28) in a postseason conference game, and came one assist shy of tying an America East championship record for handouts.
The Terriers were on fire from the floor, hitting 61 percent and nailing 10 of 19 3-point attempts.
Jesyka Burks-Wiley added 17 points; Cheri Raffo had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals; and Amarachi Umez-Eronini chipped in 10 points. Christine Kinneary dished out a game-high eight assists and Aly Hinton handed out a career-high seven (to go with nine boards).
BU (19-11) faces Vermont today in the semifinals.
Other America East - Kelli Poles scored 18 points and Sara Fenton had 15 rebounds to lead Vermont (23-7) past New Hampshire, 70-45, in quarterfinal action. The Catamounts extended their winning streak to nine games and have won 13 of 16 games . . . Diana Delva had 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to pace Hartford (25-5) over Stony Brook, 72-41. The Hawks will play Albany (13-17), a 64-57 winner over Binghamton (11-19).
Colonial Athletic Association - A layup by Kita Waller with 3.3 seconds left produced her only points and gave Virginia Commonwealth a 51-50 quarterfinal victory over Northeastern in Newark, Del. The teams exchanged leads seven times in the final six minutes. The Huskies (14-16) were led by Shaleyse Smallwood with 13 points and 15 rebounds, Stefanie Hodell with 13 points, and Lucia Pablos with 11 points. VCU (24-6) advances to today's semifinals against James Madison . . . Tamera Young scored 8 of her 12 points down the stretch to help James Madison (22-8) overcome a 12-point deficit and beat William & Mary, 53-46 . . . Four players reached double figures as top-seeded and 14th-ranked Old Dominion took care of eighth-seeded UNC-Wilmington, 82-65. It was the 21st victory in 22 games for Old Dominion, which has won an NCAA-record 16 CAA tournament titles. Tiffany Green had 19 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Lady Monarchs (27-4), who will face Towson (22-9) - a 62-53 winner over Drexel.
Mid-American - It took two overtime periods and dodging a potential game-winning shot, but Quintana Ward (16 points) and Ohio (20-12) shocked top-seeded Bowling Green, 68-66, in double-overtime in Cleveland in semifinal action. With the score tied at 66 and just under 20 seconds remaining in the second OT, Ward drove for a layup and the Falcons (25-7) could not answer on the other end, missing a 3-point shot and a fadeaway jumper. In the final, Ohio faces Miami, which defeated Toledo, 70-66.
Mountain West - New Mexico stormed to its fifth title game appearance in six seasons with a 65-41 rout of Colorado State in semifinal action in Las Vegas. Dionne Marsh led the way with 19 points for the Lobos (19-12). Colorado State (4-28) was coming off an unbelievable upset of 12th-ranked Utah - a 3-27 team beating a 27-3 team in one of the season's biggest surprises. Fourth-seeded New Mexico will face sixth-seeded San Diego State for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs beat No. 2 seed TCU, 69-67.
Big West - Sha'Rae Gibbons had 15 points to spark UC Santa Barbara (22-7) over Cal Poly, 77-57, in semifinal action in Anaheim, Calif. The Gauchos advance to the final against UC Davis, a 63-53 winner over UC Riverside.
Division 2 Regional - A second-half rally helped Stonehill overcome a 9-point halftime deficit and win, 67-58, over Bryant (20-12) in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Regional in Philadelphia. Kelsey Simonds led the Skyhawks (27-4) with 16 points. In the semifinals, Stonehill faces Franklin Pierce (25-5), a 66-54 winner over Dominican . . . Christine McCollum had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead undefeated Holy Family to a 54-39 victory over Molloy (19-12) in Philadelphia. After entering the second half tied at 27, fourth-ranked Holy Family (31-0) outscored Molloy, 27-12, the rest of the way. In the semifinals, Holy Family meets Assumption (22-9), a 67-58 winner over Bentley (19-11).
Division 3 - Tufts' NCAA Tournament run continued when the Jumbos defeated the University of Mary Washington, 48-45, in the Sweet 16 in Grantham, Pa. Tufts (26-3), making its first appearance in the tournament, moves on to the Elite Eight. Vanessa Miller nailed a 3-pointer with 1:31 left to give Tufts a 46-45 lead. Tufts will play Messiah College, a 73-61 winner over Rochester . . . Amherst College hung with defending national champion and sixth-ranked DePauw (28-3) for 40 minutes, but the Lord Jeffs couldn't close it out, ending their season with a 68-63 loss in Whitewater, Wis. Shaina Pollack had a career-high 29 points for the Jeffs (27-3). DePauw faces University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (27-3), a 96-69 winner over Simpson.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. 