Wednesday, March 26, 2008
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Maryland, Duke Struggle to Advance

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[March 26, 2008]  COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- For Duke, advancing to the round of 16 in the NCAA women's tournament is just about a sure thing. It might be that way for Maryland one day, but right now it's quite a big deal.

Chante Black scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils over Arizona State 67-59 Tuesday night. The victory thrust Duke into regional semifinals for an 11th consecutive season.

"This team is growing together and getting better each game," Duke coach Joanne McCallie said. "We had a lot of really good things going. We're excited about it and looking forward to going to Oklahoma City."

There, the third-seeded Blue Devils (25-9) will face No. 2 seed Texas A&M on Sunday.

After Duke disposed of the Sun Devils, top-seeded Maryland (32-3) beat Nebraska 76-64 to earn a matchup against fourth-seeded Vanderbilt (25-8) on Saturday in the semifinals of the Spokane Regional.

Getting this far is no small feat for the Terrapins. In their previous seven tournament appearances, they made it to the round of 16 only once -- on their way to winning the 2006 national championship.

"We're going to the Sweet 16, so as much as people want to say Maryland this and Maryland that, we're still there and we're going to be ready for Vandy," forward Laura Harper said.

People are saying that Maryland has yet to play like a team ranked in the top five all season. Playing twice at home, Maryland stumbled past No. 16 seed Coppin State on Sunday before facing an eighth-seeded Nebraska team coming off its first NCAA tournament win in 10 years.

The Terrapins played the part of a heavy favorite by building a 32-17 lead in the first half, but the Cornhuskers closed with a 16-2 run to get within a point at intermission.

It was 45-45 before Marissa Coleman hit a 3-pointer with 14:36 left to put Maryland ahead for good. Coleman added a jumper, and a 3-pointer by Kristi Toliver made it 53-45.

Minutes later, however, Nebraska's Yvonne Turner hit a 3-pointer and was fouled, and the rare 4-point play sparked a surge that got Nebraska to 65-61. Toliver answered with two straight baskets, and the Terrapins finally had enough breathing room to plan for their trip west.

"This is a very special win for our team and our program," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "I am so proud of my team, to go undefeated at home and show the toughness they displayed against a very good Nebraska team."

Coleman and Toliver each scored 19 points, and Crystal Langhorne had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Maryland.

"I don't think we played our best. We did enough to advance, and that's what it's about," said Toliver, who also had seven assists but accounted for six of Maryland's 14 turnovers.

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Turner scored a career-high 23 points for the Cornhuskers (21-12), who performed marvelously in an unfriendly environment.

"This is a very difficult place to play, especially playing the No. 1 seed on their home court," Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. "They did a lot of things in the second half that enabled them to pull away from us."

In the first game, Duke led 29-28 before a three-point play by Joy Cheek and a layup by Black sparked an 18-5 run that made it 47-34 with 11:19 to go.

But Arizona State made eight free throws in a 12-4 spurt that got the Sun Devils to 56-53. It was 59-57 before Black made two foul shots, and she added two more free throws with 29 seconds remaining to give Duke a six-point cushion.

"I thought Chante just dominated and really maintained great poise despite tremendous physical play inside," McCallie said.

Briann January scored 17 points and Lauren Lacey had 13 for Arizona State (22-11), which went 0-10 against ranked opponents this season. The Sun Devils were seeking to reach the round of 16 for the third time in four years.

After averaging only 10 turnovers over its previous two games, Arizona State had 10 at halftime and finished with 16. That wouldn't have been a problem if the Sun Devils could have contained Black.

"Chante Black hurt us, not only on the boards but in scoring," coach Charli Turner Thorne said.

[Associated Press; By DAVID GINSBURG]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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