Maryland, Duke move on in ACC
Yesterday's Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals featured four of the top 12 teams in the nation, with the higher-ranked team winning both games in Greensboro, N.C.
Fourth-ranked Maryland raced past No. 11 North Carolina, 95-84, as Marissa Coleman scored 29 points and Kristi Toliver had 25. The top-seeded Terrapins (27-4) moved within one victory of their first conference tournament title since 1989. The fourth-seeded Tar Heels (26-6) had won 13 straight games in ACC tournament play.
In the second semifinal, No. 8 Duke advanced to today's championship game by dispatching 12th-ranked Florida State, 75-57. The Blue Devils (26-4), the tourney's third seed, shot 52 percent from the field while holding the second-seeded Seminoles (25-7) to 34 percent.
Atlantic 10 quarterfinals - Justine Raterman (17 points) hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime to help eighth-seeded Dayton (20-12) stun top seed and 16th-ranked Xavier, 63-60, in Charlotte, N.C. . . . LaKeisha Eaddy's 26 points lifted No. 2 seed Temple (21-8) to a 67-53 win over St. Bonaventure . . . Rhode Island, the 12th seed, was eliminated by No. 4 seed Richmond, 64-48 . . . Third-seeded Charlotte stormed past Duquesne, 81-57.
Atlantic Sun final - Top seed East Tennessee State (20-10) reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, defeating No. 2 seed Jacksonville, 58-52, in Nashville.
Big East second round - No. 5 seed Notre Dame, ranked 20th, blew away No. 13 seed St. John's with a 16-2 run in the second half and pulled away for a 62-45 victory in Hartford. Lindsay Schrader led the Irish (23-8) with 16 points . . . Jazmine Sepulveda scored 24 points on eight 3-pointers, sparking eighth-seeded South Florida to a 68-58 win over Cincinnati. The Bulls (22-9) take on No. 1 UConn today . . . Seventh-seeded Rutgers (19-11) handled Seton Hall, 79-45 . . . DePaul, the sixth seed, beat West Virginia, 75-72, in overtime.
Big Ten semifinals - At Indianapolis, Jantel Lavender (21 points, 17 rebounds) paced 12th-ranked Ohio State (26-5) to a 72-56 win over Iowa . . . Purdue, the No. 3 seed, beat Wisconsin, 70-56, to get a date with the top-seeded Buckeyes.
Metro Atlantic semifinals - Amanda Cavo (18 points) and second-seeded Canisius (24-7) advanced to today's championship game by posting a 62-55 win over third-seeded Fairfield (18-13) in Albany, N.Y. . . . Rachele Fitz totaled 29 points and 18 rebounds as top seed Marist (28-3) dropped Iona, 76-69.
Northeast quarterfinals - Tournament host Sacred Heart cruised past Mount St. Mary's, 73-59. The top-seeded Pioneers (23-7) got 33 points from Kaitlin Sowinski . . . Kerrianne Dugan and Leanne Crockett had 11 points apiece to lead No. 2 seed Central Connecticut (18-12) to a 62-51 win over Fairleigh Dickinson . . . Fifth-seeded Monmouth (18-12) knocked out No. 4 seed Quinnipiac, 69-67 . . . Third-seeded St. Francis (Pa.) ousted defending champ Robert Morris, 72-60.
Ohio Valley final - Fifth-seeded Austin Peay (17-15) beat No. 2 seed Eastern Illinois, 69-65, in double overtime in Nashville to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Patriot quarterfinals - Holy Cross faded in the second half and fell to No. 5 seed Army, 54-47, in Bethlehem, Pa. The fourth-seeded Crusaders (13-17) received 15 points from Briana McFadden . . . Top seed Lehigh (24-6) disposed of Colgate, 78-54.
Southeastern semifinals - Sixth-ranked Auburn (29-2) used 26 points from DeWanna Bonner and a 21-4 run to start the second half to blow out No. 19 Tennessee (22-10) in North Little Rock, Ark. . . . No. 22 Vanderbilt (23-9) stifled LSU, 61-47.
Summit first round - Maria Boever's 21 points carried 17th-ranked South Dakota State (29-2) to a 77-49 rout of Oral Roberts in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Stanford 77, Arizona St. 68 - Jayne Appel had a season-high 29 points and the second-ranked Cardinal (26-4, 17-1) won the Pac-10 title outright with a home win over the No. 18 Sun Devils (23-7, 15-3).
Baylor 64, Texas A&M 60 - Jessica Morrow scored the game's final 12 points and finished with 23 to propel the fifth-ranked Bears (25-4, 12-4 Big 12) past the No. 10 Aggies (23-6, 11-5) in Waco, Texas.
BU 95, Albany 72 - The host Terriers (22-6, 16-0) concluded a perfect season in America East as Amarachi Umez-Eronini scored a career-best 24 points and Christine Kinneary added 18 points and 11 assists.
Dartmouth 64, Brown 43 - The host Big Green (17-10, 12-1) clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title as Brittney Smith scored 20 points.
Harvard 91, Yale 57 - In her final home game, Emily Tan had 34 points as the Crimson (19-8, 11-2) stayed alive for the Ivy title. Harvard has to beat Dartmouth Tuesday to force a one-game playoff with the Big Green.
NCAA Div. 3 second round - Jessica Chapin had 18 points and Brandeis (19-7) reached its first Sweet 16 by trouncing Mount St. Mary, 79-52, in Waltham . . . Tufts (22-5) blew a 12-point lead and dropped a 57-55 decision to the College of New Jersey (25-4) in Bethlehem, Pa. . . . Host Amherst (27-2) coasted past Emmanuel, 76-37 . . . Muhlenberg (26-3) ousted Bowdoin, 58-57, in Brunswick, Maine.
ECAC Div. 3 semifinals - Host Nichols (25-4) dodged Keene State, 58-53, as Jessica Nelson scored 17 points . . . At Worcester, Serena Dubois's 17 points led WPI (23-6) to a 52-43 win over Emerson (21-9). 