Guru's Local Top Performers: Baskets and Boards By Dates Achieved

Baskets and Boards

(Thru 4/04/14)

Baskets (20 or more points)

(Number with hyphen in front counts running total in each category)

1-34 pts.: Michelle Miller, Princeton, L, @ Seton Hall, 2-WNIT, 3/23
1-33 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, vs. St. Francis, Pa., 11/8
1-33 pts.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, vs. Charleston, 2/14
1-32 pts.: Alicia Cropper, La Salle, W, @ George Washington, 1/25
2-32 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, @ Indiana, 2/13
3-30 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, @ Georgetown, 12/8
1-29 pts.: Tyonna Williams, Temple, W, vs. Auburn, 11/16
1-29 pts.: Erin Shields, Saint Joseph’s, W, @ George Mason, 2-15
1-29 pts.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, L, vs. Ohio State at Big 10 qtrs., 3/7
1-29 pts.: Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, W-20T, vs. Seton Hall, 3-WNIT, 3/27
1-28 pts.: Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple, L, @ Syracuse, 12/15
1-28 pts.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, @ Cornell, 2/7
1-28 pts.: Blake Dietrick, Princeton, W, vs. Yale, 2/15
1-28 pts.: Emily Leer, Villanova, W, vs. Georgetown, 2/23
4-27 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, @ Iowa, 1/5
2-27 pts.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, vs. Hofstra, 1/5
3-27 pts.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, L, @ College of Charleston, 1/26
2-27 pts.: Erin Shields, Saint Joseph’s, W, vs. VCU, 2/1
2-27 pts.: Blake Dietrick, Princeton, W, vs. Brown, 2/14
1-27 pts.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W-2OT, vs. Seton Hall, 3-WNIT, 3/27
2-26 pts.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, @ Northeastern, 11/13
1-26 pts.: Rachel Hollivay, Rutgers, W, vs. Howard, 11/22
3-26 pts.: Blake Dietrick, Princeton, L. @ Oregon, 12/1
5-26 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W vs. Texas A&M, 12/15
4-26 pts.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, vs. Northeastern, 1/30
6-26 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, vs. Northwestern, 2/20

7-25 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W., vs. Illinois State in Bahamas, 11/30
3-25 pts.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, vs. Houston, 1/4
2-25 pts.: Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple, L, vs. Rutgers, 1/25
8-25 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, vs. Minnesota, 1/26
2-25 pts.: Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, L, vs. Louisville, 1/28
2-25 pts.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, @ Columbia, 2/8
9-25 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, vs. Wisconsin, 2/16
3-25 pts.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, L, vs. Texas, 1-NCAA, 3/23
2-24 pts.: Emily Leer, Villanova, W-OT, @ Lehigh, 11/14
3-24 pts.: Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple, L, vs. Michigan State, 11/26
2-24 pts.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, L, @ South Dakota State, 12/11
1-24 pts.: Natasha Thames, Temple, W, vs. Howard, 12/19
2-24 pts.: Natasha Thames, Temple, L, vs. Louisville, 1/1
10-24 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, @ Illinois, 1/9
5-24 pts.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, vs. N.C.-Wilmington, 1/17
1-24 pts.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, @ Temple, 1/25
2-24pts.: Alicia Cropper, La Salle, L, vs. Dayton, 2/19
3-24 pts.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, L, @ Nebraska, 2/24
6-24 pts.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, L, vs. William & Mary, 2/23
1-24 pts.: Devon Kane, Villanova, W, vs. Quinnipiac, 1-WNIT, 3/19

4-23 pts.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, W, vs. St. Francis, Pa., 11/8
11-23 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, vs. Fordham, 11/10
3-23 pts.: Erin Shields, Saint Joseph’s, L, @ LSU-WNIT-2, 11/10
4-23 pts.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, vs. Howard, 11/22
4-23 pts.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, @ La Salle, 12/2
1-23 pts.: Erika Brown, Delaware, W, @ Lehigh, Xmas Tr. Championship, 12/21
4-23 pts.: Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple, L, vs. Villanova, 12/22
1-23 pts.: Rachel Pearson, Drexel, W, @ Cornell, 12/30
2-23 pts.: Michelle Miller, Princeton, W, @ Drexel, 1/4
3-23 pts.: Alicia Cropper, La Salle, W, vs. Va. Commonwealth, 1/7
1-23 pts.: Micahya Owens, La Salle, W, vs. Massachusetts, 1/11
5-23 pts.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, L-OT, @ Memphis, 1/14
2-23 pts.: Rachel Pearson, Drexel, W, vs. Northeastern, 1/26
12-23 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, @ Purdue, 1/30
13-23 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, @ Ohio State, 2/9
5-23 pts.: Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple, L, vs. South Florida, 2/22
2-23 pts.: Micahya Owens, La Salle, W, @ Duquesne, 2/26
3-23pts.: Emily Leer, Villanova, W, vs. Marquette, 3/4
2-23 pts.: Devon Kane, Villanova, W, vs. Marquette, 3/4
3-23 pts.: Michaya Owens, La Salle, W, vs. St. Louis at A-10 1st, 3/6
5-23 pts.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, @ Princeton, 3/11
7-22 pts.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, vs. Wake Forest, 11/15
6-22 pts.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, vs. Army, 12/11
4-22 pts.: Blake Dietrick, Princeton, W-OT, vs. Delaware, 12/15
1-22 pts.: Shi-Heria Shipp, Temple, W, vs. Howard, 12/19
1-22 pts.: Sarah Curran, Drexel, W, @ William & Mary, 1/16
3-22 pts.: Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, L, vs. Connecticut, 1/19
4-22 pts.: Alicia Cropper, La Salle, L, @ St. Louis, 2/1
1-22 pts.: Natasha Cloud, Saint Joseph’s, L, @ St. Bonaventure, 2/5
4-22 pts.: Erin Shields, Sainy Joseph’s, W, vs. La Salle, 2/12
6-22 pts.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, vs. UCF, 2/15
4-22 pts.: Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, W, vs. UCF, 2/ 15
7-22 pts.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, vs. Brown, 2/15
1-22 pts.: Kara Bonenberger, Penn, W, @ Brown, 2/28
7-22 pts.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, vs. SMU, American qtrs., 3/8
1-22 pts.: Alex Wheatley, Princeton, W, vs. VCU 1-WNIT, 3/20
14-22 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, vs. Wichita State, 1-NCAA, 3/23
15-22 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, W, vs. Florida, 2-NCAA, 3-25
1-22 pts.: Dara Taylor, Penn State, W, vs. Florida, 2-NCAA, 3-25
5-22 pts.: Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, W, vs. Delaware, 1-WNIT, 3-20
5-22 pts: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, L, @ Stanford, 3-NCAA, 3/30
6-22 pts: Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, W, @ South Florida, 5-WNIT, 4/02

4-21 pts.: Micahya Owens, La Salle, L, @ Rutgers, 11/17
1-21 pts.: Sarah Fairbanks, Saint Joseph’s, W, vs. Drexel, 11/20
3-21 pts.: Devon Kane, Villanova, W-OT, @ Sacred Heart, 11/20
3-21 pts.: Natasha Thames, Temple, W, vs. Oakland, 11/30
2-21 pts.: Natasha Cloud, Saint Joseph’s, W, @ Temple, 12/4
5-21 pts.: Blake Dietrick, Princeton, W, @ Binghamton, 12/11
4-21 pts.: Emily Leer, Villanova, W, @ La Salle, 12/15
5-21 pts.: Erin Shields, Saint Joseph’s, L, @ Syracuse, 12/21
1-21 pts.: Kristen Helmstetter, Princeton, W, vs. Alabama at Va. Tourney, 12/28
8-21 pts: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, @ Cincinnati, 1/7
7-21 pts.: Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, L-OT, @ Memphis, 1/14
8-21 pts.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, @ Temple, 1/22
6-21 pts.: Erin Shields, Saint Joseph’s, W, @ George Washington, 1/22
3-21 pts.: Natasha Cloud, Saint Joseph’s, W, vs. Dayton, 1/26
6-21 pts.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, W, @ Purdue, 1/30
16-21 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, L, vs. Iowa, 2/6
3-21 pts.: Rachel Pearson, Drexel, L, @ College of Charleston, 2/7
1-21 pts.: Ciara Andrews, Saint Joseph’s, W, vs. Duquesne, 2/18
9-21 pts.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, @ Harvard, 2/21
8-21 pts.: Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, W, vs. Temple, 2/26
7-21 pts.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, W, vs. Michigan, 3/1
17-21 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, L, vs. Ohio State at Big 10 qtrs, 3/7
2-21 pts.: Kara Bonenberger, Penn, W, vs. Columbia, 3/7
8-21 PTS.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, vs. Northeastern @ CAA qtrs., 3/14

6-20 pts.: Blake Dietrick, Princeton, L, @ Rutgers, 11/10
2-20 pts.: Sarah Fairbanks, Saint Joseph’s, W, vs. Liberty, 11/23
1-20 pts.: Ilze Gotfrida, Saint Joseph’s, W, @ Quinnipiac, 12/1
1-20 pts.: Leeza Burdgess, La Salle, W, @ William & Mary, 12/5
3-20 pts.: Michelle Miller, Princeton, W, @ Navy, 12/6
7-20 pts.: Erin Shields, Saint Joseph’s, W, vs. Hofstra, 12/10
18-20 pts.: Maggie Lucas, Penn State, L, @ South Dakota State, 12/11
2-20 pts.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. Wagner, 12/12
2-20 pts.: Dara Taylor, Penn State, W, vs. Alcorn State, 12/22
20 pts.: Caroline Coyer, Villanova, W, @ Marquette, 12/31
9-20 pts.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W @ William & Mary, 1/9
8-20 pts.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, W, @ Illinois, 1/9
9-20 pts.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, L, vs. Connecticut, 1/1
3-20 pts.: Kara Bonenberger, Penn, W, @ Temple, 1/22
10-20 pts.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, @ Temple, 1/25
10-20 pts.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, vs. Dartmouth, 1/31
5-20 pts.: Michaya Owens, La Salle, W, vs. George Mason, 2/5
11-20 pts.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, @ SMU, 2/8
5-20 pts.: Alicia Cropper, La Salle, L, @ Saint Joseph’s, 2/12
1-20 pts.: Lauren Burford, Villanova, W, vs. Georgetown, 2/23
10-20 pts.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, L, vs. James Madison, 2/20
2-20 pts.: Kristen Helmstetter, Princeton, L, @ Brown, 3/1
1-20 pts.: Kathleen Roche, Penn, W, @ Yale, 3/1
6-20 pts.: Alicia Cropper, La Salle, W, vs. St. Louis at A-10 1st, 3/6
6-20 pts.: Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple, L, vs. South Florida, American qtrs., 3/8
1-20 pts.: Meghan Creighton, Drexel, W, vs. Hofstra at CAA qtrs.., 3/14
2-20 pts.: Lauren Burford, Villanova, W, vs. Qui8nnipiac, 1-WNIT, 3/19
3-20 pts.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W-2OT, vs. Seton Hall, 3-WNIT, 3/27

Boards

(10 or more rebounds)

1-19 rebs.: Joy Caracciolo, Delaware, W, @ Rider, 11/24
1-19 rebs.: Sydney Stipanovich, Penn, W, vs. Drexel, 12/21
1-19 rebs.: Leeza Burdgess, La Salle, L., vs. Binghamton at Dartmouth, 12/30
1-19 rebs.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, vs. Charleston @ CAA semis, 3/15
1-16 rebs.: Shi-Heria Shipp, Temple, W, @ Montana, 12/14
2-16 rebs.: Leeza Burdgess, La Salle, W, @ George Mason,1/4
2-15 rebs.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, @ Rider, 11/24
1-15 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. Houston, 1/4
3-15 reb.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, vs. Hofstra, 1/5
1-15 rebs.: Taylor Robinson, Temple, L, vs. Penn, 1/22
1-14 rebs.: Kavunaa Edwards, Villanova, W, vs. Lafayette, 11/24

1-13 rebs.: Courtni Green, Delaware, @ Rhode Island, 11/8
1-13 rebs.: Natasha Thames, Temple, @ La Salle, 11/8
2-13 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, @Northeastern, 11/13
1-13 rebs.: Fiona Flanagan, Drexel, W, vs. Providence, 11/15
1-13 rebs.: Rachel Hollivay, Rutgers, W, vs. Howard, 11/22
1-13 rebs.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, vs. Howard, 11/22
2-13 rebs.: Natasha Thames, Temple, L, @ Syracuse, 12/16
3-13 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, @ South Florida, 12/28
3-13 rebs.: Leeza Burdgess, La Salle, W, vs. Va. Commonwealth, 1/8
1-13 rebs.: Ilze Gotfrida, Saint Joseph’s, L, @ Va. Commonwealth, 1/12
3-13 rebs.: Natasha Thames, Temple, L, vs. Penn, 1/22
1-13 rebs.: Jasmine Alston, La Salle, W, @ George Washington, 1/25
2-13 rebs.: Shi-Heria Shipp, Temple, L, @ SMU, 2/1
3-13 rebs.: Shi-Heria Shipp, Temple, W, vs. Memphis, 2/9
2-13 rebs.: Sydney Stipanovich, Penn, W, @ Brown, 2/28
4-13 rebs.: Leeza Burdgess, La Salle, W, vs. St. Louis at A-10 1st, 3/6
1-13 rebs.: Talia East, Penn State, W, vs. Wichita State, 1-NCAA, 3/23
1-12 rebs.: Siobhan Beslow, La Salle, L, vs. Temple, 11/8
1-12 rebs.: Shanice Johnson, Delaware, L, vs. Temple, 11/12
4-12 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. La Salle, 11/17
2-12 rebs.: Fiona Flanagan, Drexel, L, @ American, 12/8
5-12 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. Wagner, 12/12
4-12 rebs.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, College of Charleston, 1/9
3-12 rebs.: NatashaThames, Temple, W, vs. SMU, 1/14
1-12 rebs.: Kara Bonenberger, Penn, W, @ Temple, 1/22
1-12 rebs.: Alicia Cropper, La Salle, L, vs. Richmond, 1/29
2-12 rebs.: Talia East, Penn State, W, @ Purdue, 1/30
3-12 rebs.: Sydney Stipanovich, Penn, W, vs. Dartmouth, 1/31
2-12 rebs.: Kara Bonenberger, Penn, W, vs. Harvard, 2/1.
4-12 rebs.: Shi-Heria Shipp, Temple, W, @ Houston, 2/4
3-12 rebs.: Talia East, Penn State, L, vs. Iowa, 2/6
5-12 rebs.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, vs. Charleston, 2/14
1-12 rebs.: Hannah Jardine, Delaware, W, vs.Charleston, 2/14
4-12 rebs.: Talia East, Penn State, L, @ Nebraska, 2/24
6-12 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, L, @ Louisville, 2/23
4-12 rebs.: Sydney Stipanovich, Penn, W, @ Harvard, 2/21
2-12 rebs.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, vs. Temple, 2/26
1-12 rebs.: Natasha Cloud, Saint Joseph’s, W, @ Massachusetts, 2/27
2-12 rebs.: Jasmine Alston, La Salle, W, vs. St. Louis at A-10 1st, 3/6
5-12 rebs.: Sydney Stipanovich, Penn, W, vs. Columbia, 3/8
2-12 rebs.: Joy Caracciolo, Delaware, W, vs. Northeastern @ CAA qtrs., 3/14
1-12 rebs.: Annie Tarakchian, Princeton, W, vs. VCU, 1-WNIIT, 3/20
2-12 rebs.: Annie Tarakchian, Princeton, L, @ Seton Hall, 2-WNIT, 3/23
7-12 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. Delaware, 1-WNIT, 3/20
3-12 rebs.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, vs. Harvard, 2-WNIT, 3/24
1-12 rebs.: Briyona Canty, Rutgers, W, @ South Florida, 5-WNIT, 4/02

4-11 rebs.: Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, W, @ Northeastern, 11/12
2-11 rebs.: Natasha Cloud, Saint Joseph’s, W, @ Wichita St.-WNIT Cns, 11/15
5-11 rebs.: Leeza Burdgess, La Salle, L, @ Rutgers, 11/17
3-11 rebs.: Annie Tarakchian, Princeton, W, @ Rider, 11/19
1-11 rebs.: Alex Harris, Penn State, W, vs. Bucknell, 11/20
5-11 rebs.: Talia East, Penn State, W, vs. Illinois State, at Bahamas, 11/30
2-11 rebs.: Alex Harris, Penn State, W, vs. Illinois State, at Bahamas, 11/30
8-11 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, @ Davidson, 12/4
6-11 rebs.: Sydney Stipanovich, Penn, W, @ Bucknell, 12/7
3-11 rebs.: Natasha Cloud, Saint Joseph’s, W, vs. Hofstra, 12/10
1-11 rebs.: Katy Allen, Penn, W, vs. Army, 12/11
1-11 rebs.: Tori Waldner, Penn State, W, vs. Texas A&M, 12/15
9-11 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. Sacred Heart, 12/15
3-11 rebs.: Fiona Flanagan, Drexel, L, vs. Hampton, 12/18
4-11 rebs.: Natasha Thames, Temple, W, @ Memphis, 12/29
5-11 rebs.: Natasha Thames, Temple, L, @ South Florida, 1/7
1-11 rebs.: Abby Redick, Drexel, W, vs. College of Charleston, 1/9
1-11 rebs.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, W, @ Illinois, 1/9
2-11 rebs.: Rachel Hollivay, Rutgers, W, vs. SMU, 1/11
10-11 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. SMU, 1/11
6-11 rebs.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, W, vs.N.C.-Wilmington, 1/17
2-11 rebs.: Ilize Gotfrida, Saint Joseph’s, W, vs. Penn, 1/17
6-11 rebs.: Natasha Thames, Temple, W, @ Cincinnati, 1/18
6-11 rebs.: Talia East, Penn State, W, vs. Indiana, 1/22
7-11 rebs.: Natasha Thames, L, vs. Rutgers, 1/25
2-11 rebs.: Kavunaa Edwards, Villanova, W, vs. Xavier, 1/25
4-11 rebs.: Natasha Cloud, Saint Joseph’s, L, vs. St. Louis, 1/29
1-11 rebs.: Sarah Fairbanks, Saint Joseph’s, L, vs. St. Louis, 1/29
1-11 rebs.: Michelle Miller, Princeton, W, @ Cornell, 2/8
1-11 rebs.: Ashley Robinson, Saint Joseph’s, W, @ George Mason, 2/15
3-11 rebs.: Joy Caracciolo, Delaware, L, vs. William & Mary, 2/23
3-11 rebs.: Kara Bonenberger, Penn, W, @ Harvard, 2/21
7-11 rebs.: Sydney Stipanovich, Penn, L, @ Dartmouth, 2/22
4-11 rebs.: Joy Caracciolo, Delaware, W., vs. Charleston @ CAA semis,3/15
11-11 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W-2OT, vs. Seton Hall, 3-WNIT, 3/27

1-10 rebs.: Alex Wheatley, Princeton, L, @ Rutgers, 11/10
1-12-10 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. Princeton, 11/10
3-10 rebs.: Alex Harris, Penn State, W, vs. Fordham, 11/10
7-10 rebs.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, L, vs. Temple, 11/12
7-10 rebs.: Talia East, Penn State, L, vs. Connecticut, 11/17
1-10 rebs.: Kristen Helmstetter, Princeton, W, @ Rider, 11/19
1-10 rebs.: Courtni Green, Delaware, W, @ Rider, 11/24
1-10 rebs.: Khristin Lee, La Salle, L, @ Fairfield, 11/25
1-10 rebs.: Taylor Holeman, Villanova, W, vs. Montana State at FIU Trny, 11/29
1-10 rebs.: Erica Coville, Temple, W, vs. Oakland, 11/30
1-10 rebs.: Akeema Richards, Delaware, W, vs. Howard at UCF Tourn., 12/1
2-10 rebs.: Tori Waldner, Penn State, W, @ Georgetown, 12/8
1-10 rebs.: Rachel Pearson, Drexel, W, @ St. John’s, 12/14
3-10 rebs.: Jasmine Alston, La Salle, L, vs. Villanova, 12/15
1-10 rebs.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, vs. Drexel, 12/21
13-10 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. Georgia, 12/21
3-10 rebs.: Tori Waldner, Penn State, W, vs. Alcorn State, 12/22
2-10 rebs.: Kristen Helmstetter, Princeton, W, vs. Alabama at Va. Tourn., 12/28
1-10 rebs.: Vanessa Smith, Princeton, vs. Alabama at Va. Tourney, 12/28
5-10 rebs.: Shi-Heria Shipp, Temple, W, @ Memphis, 12/29
2-10 rebs.: Sarah Fairbanks, Saint Joseph’s, W, @ Florida Gulf Coast, 12/29
6-10 rebs.: Leeza Burdgess, La Salle, W, @ Dartmouth at Blue Sky Cl., 12/29
2-10 rebs.: Alicia Cropper, La Salle, W-OT, @ Rhode Island, 1/2
3-10 rebs.: Ilze Gotfrida, Saint Joseph’s, W, @ Richmond, 1/2
6-10 rebs.: Shi-Heria Shipp, Temple, W, vs. Central Florida, 1/4
8-10 rebs.: Talia East, Penn State, W, @ Iowa, 1/5
2-10 rebs.: Ashley Robinson, Saint Joseph’s, L, vs. George Washington, 1/5
14-10 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, @ Cincinnati, 1/7
4-10 rebs.: Ilze Gotfrida, Saint Joseph’s, W, vs. Rhode Island, 1/8
1-10 rebs.: Blake Dietrick, Princeton, W, @ Penn, 1/11
3-10 rebs.: Ashley Robinson, Saint Joseph’s, L, @ Va. Commonwealth, 1/12
9-10 rebs.: Talia East, Penn State, L, vs. Purdue, 1/12
2-10 rebs.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, W, vs. Ohio State, 1/16
2-10 rebs.: Abby Redick, Drexel, W, @ William E& Mary, 1/16
2-10 rebs.: Shanice Johnson, Delaware, W, vs. N.C.-Wilmington, 1/17
7-10 rebs.: Leeza Burdgess, La Salle, L, vs. Saint Joseph’s, 1/19
1-10 rebs.: Kaliyah Mitchell, Penn State, W, @ Michigan State, 1/19
8-10 rebs.: Sydney Stipanovich, Penn, W, @ Temple, 1/22
2-10 rebs.: Kavunaa Edwards, Villanova, L, vs. St. John’s, 1/22
15-10 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, @ Temple, 1/25
9-10 rebs.: Sydney Stipanovich, Penn, W, vs. NJIT 1/25
5-10 rebs.: Joy Caracciolo, Delaware, L, @ College of Charleston, 1/26
16-10 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. Memphis, 2/1
4-10 rebs. : Jasmine Alston, La Salle, W, vs. George Mason, 2/5
2-10 rebs.: Siobhan Beslow, La Salle, W, vs. George Mason, 2/5
2-10 rebs.: Taylor Holeman, Villanova, W, @ Providence, 2/5
2-10 rebs.: Hannah Jardine, Delaware, W @ N.C.-Wilmington, 2/7
3-10 rebs.: Rachel Hollivay, Rutgers, W, @ SMU, 2/8
3-10 rebs.: Alicia Cropper, La Salle, W, vs. Rhode Island, 2/8
2-10 rebs.: Erica Coville, Temple, W, vs. Memphis, 2/9
3-10 rebs.: Erica Coville, Temple, L, @ Louisville, 2/12
5-10 rebs.: Jasmine Alston, La Salle, L, @ Fordham, 2/15
3-10 rebs.: Siobhan Beslow, La Salle, L @ Fordham, 2/15
10-10 rebs.: Sydney Stipanovich, Penn, W, vs. Brown, 2/15
3-10 rebs.: Kristen Helmstetter, Princeton, W, vs. Yale, 2/15
3-10 rebs.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, W, vs. Wisconsin, 2/16
8-10 rebs.: Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, L, vs. William & Mary, 2/23
7-10 rebs.: Shi-Heria Shipp, Temple, L, vs. South Florida, 2/22
2-10 rebs.: Alyssa Baron, Penn, W, @ Yale, 3/1
6-10 rebs.: Jasmine Alston, La Salle, L, vs. St. Bonaventure at A-10 qtrs. 3/7
4-10 rebs.: Ariel Edwards, Penn State, L, vs. Ohio State at Big 10 qtrs. 3/7
4-10 rebs.: Kristen Helmstetter, Princeton, W, vs. Columbia, 3/8
17-10 rebs.: Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, W, vs. SMU at American qtrs.. 3/8
1-10 rebs. Taylor Williams, Princeton, W, vs. Columbia, 3/8
6-10 rebs.: Joy Caracciolo, Delaware, L, vs. James Madison @ CAA title, 3/16
2-10 rebs.: Alex Wheatley, Princeton, W, vs. VCU, 1-WNIT, 3/20
4-10 rebs.: Ashley Robinson, Saint Joseph’s, W, vs. Georgia, 1-NCAA, 3/23

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Guru's Local Watch: The Best Individual Performances to Date

Baskets and Boards for PhilahoopsW Players

(Index Look Thru 4/04/14)

Baskets (Incremental Leaders thru 20 or more points)

30 or More Points

Hyphen Number Indicates Multiples

3 – Maggie Lucas, Penn State: 33, 32, 30

1- Michelle Miller, Princeton 34

1 – Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware: 33

1- Alicia Cropper, La Salle: 32

25 or More Points

9 Maggie Lucas, Penn State: 27, 2-26, 3-25 plus 3 of 30 or more

4 Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware, 2-27, 26 plus 1 of 30 or more

3 Kahleah Copper, Rutgers: 27, 26, 25

3 Blake Dietrick, Princeton: 28, 27, 26

3 Alyssa Baron, Penn: 28, 25. 25

2 Erin Shields, Saint Joseph’s: 29, 27

2 Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple: 28, 25

2 Tyler Scaife, Rutgers: 29, 25

1 Tyonna Williams, Temple (29)

1 Emily Leer, Villanova (28)

1 Rachel Hollivay, Rutgers (26)

1 Michelle Miller, Princeton (34)

20 or More Points

18 Maggie Lucas, Penn State: 24, 3-23, 2-22, 2-21, 20, plus 9-25 (including 3-30+)

11 Kahleah Copper, Rutgers: 2-23, 2-22, 21, 3-20, plus 3-25 or more

10 Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware: 2-24, 22, 21, 2-20, plus 4-25 or more (including 1-33)

10 Alyssa Baron, Penn: 25, 2-23, 2-22, 2-21, 20, plus 2-25 or more

8 Ariel Edwards, Penn State: 29, 2-24, 23, 22, 2-21, 20

8 Tyler Scaife, Rutgers: 4-22, 2-21, plus 2-25 or more

7 Erin Shields, Saint Joseph’s: 23, 22, 2-21, 20, plus 2-25 or more

6 Blake Dietrick, Princeton: 22, 21, 20, plus 3-25 or more

6 Alicia Cropper, La Salle: 24, 23, 22, 2-20, plus 1-25 or more (includes 1-32)

6 Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple: 20, 24, 2-23, plus 2-25 or more

5 Micahya Owens, La Salle: 3-23, 21, 20

4 Emily Leer, Villanova: 24, 23, 21, plus 1-25 or more

3 Natasha Thames, Temple: 2-24, 21

3 Natasha Cloud, Saint Joseph’s: 22, 2-21

3 Rachel Pearson, Drexel: 2-23, 21

3 Karah Bonenberger, Penn: 22, 21, 20

3 Michelle Miller, Princeton: 23, 20. 34

3 Devon Kane, Villanova: 24, 23, 21

3 Betnijah Laney, Rutgers: 24, 2- 20

2 Sarah Fairbanks, Saint Joseph’s: 21, 20

2 Kristen Helmstetter, Princeton: 21, 20

2 Lauren Burford, Villanova: 2-20

2 Dara Taylor, Penn State: 22, 20

1 Erika Brown, Delaware: 23

1 Shi-Heria Shipp, Temple: 22

1 Sarah Curan, Drexel: 22

1 Alex Wheatley, Princeton: 22

1 Ciara Andrews, Saint Joseph’s: 21

1 Ilze Gotfrida, Saint Joseph’s: 20

1 Leeza Burdgess, LaSalle: 20

1 Caroline Coyer, Villanova: 20

1 Kathleen Roche, Penn: 20

1 Meghan Creighton, Drexel, 20

Boards (10 or more rebounds)

17 Betnijah Laney, Rutgers: 15, 2-13, 4-12, 4-11, 6-10

10 Sydney Stipanovich, Penn: 19, 13, 3-12, 2-11, 3-10

9 Talia East, Penn State: 13, 3-12, 2-11, 3-10

8 Natasha Thames, Temple: 3-13, 1-12, 4-11, 10

8 Kelsey Buchanan, Delaware: 19, 2-15, 2-12, 1-11, 2-10

7 Shi-Heria Shipp, Temple: 16, 2-13, 12, 3-10

7 Leeza Burdgess, La Salle: 19, 16, 2-13, 11, 2-10

6 Jasmine Alston, La Salle: 13, 12, 4-10

6 Joy Caracciolo, Delaware, 19, 12, 2-11, 2-10

4 Natasha Cloud, Saint Joseph’s: 12, 3-11

4 Ilze Gotfrida, Saint Joseph’s: 13, 11, 2-10

4 Ariel Edwards, Penn State: 11, 3-10

4 Kristen Helmstetter, Princeton: 4-10

4 Ashley Robinson, Saint Joseph’s: 11, 3-10

4 Kahleah, Rutgers, 13, 2-12, 11

3 Siobhan Beslow, La Salle: 12, 2-10

3 Rachel Hollivay, Rutgers, 13, 11, 10

3 Alicia Copper, La Salle: 12, 2-10

3 Erica Coville, Temple: 3-10

3 Fiona Flanagan, Drexel: 13, 12, 11

3 Ashley Robinson, Saint Joseph’s: 11, 2-10

3 Alex Harris, Penn State: 2-11, 10

3 Kara Bonenberger, Penn: 2-12, 11

3 Tori Waldner, Penn State: 11, 2-10

3 Kavunaa Edwards, Villanova, 14: 11, 10

3 Annie Tarakchian, Princeton: 12, 12, 11

2 Alyssa Baron, Penn: 2-10

2 Hannah Jardine, Delaware: 12, 10

2 Shanice Johnson, Delaware: 12, 10

2 Abby Redick, Drexel: 11, 10

2 Taylor Holeman, Villanova: 2-10

2 Sarah Fairbanks, Saint Joseph’s: 11, 10

2 Courtni Green, Delaware: 13, 11

2 Alex Wheatley, Princeton: 10, 10

1 Taylor Robinson, Temple: 15

1 Michelle Miller, Princeton: 11

1 Katy Allen, Penn: 11

1 Khristin Lee, La Salle: 10

1 Akeema Richards, Delaware: 10

1 Rachel Pearson, Drexel: 10

1 Vanessa Smith, Princeton: 10

1 Blake Dietrick, Princeton: 10

1 Kaliyah Mitchell, Penn State: 10

1 Taylor Williams, Princeton: 10

1 Briyona Canty, Rutgers: 12

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Mike Siroky's WNIT Report on the SEC & Big Ten: Only Two Get Through

By Mike Siroky

Oh yeah, that other (though older) post-season basketball tournament is also in its Round of 16

The mighty Southeastern Conference and The Big Ten started with four possibilities and ended with the half that had conference teams playing each other.

Here’s what happened:

BIG TEN

• Indiana 66, Northwesten 65: It is only fair to lead off with two conference foes fighting, because one had to eliminate the other. The game was the third straight at home for Indiana. Northwestern (17-16) recovered its reputation a bit in that two wins guaranteed a non-losing season.

Indiana (21-12) the same with a 20-win season guaranteed. It also guaranteed a B1G team into the Elite 8.

The Wildcats had won the regular-season opportunity against the Hoosiers, so naturally this one was at Bloomington.

Freshman Larryn Brooks decided she was not yet done with her rookie season.

To close, she hit a 3 to pull her team to just one point shy with 2:32 to go.

After Northwestern hit a layup at the two-minute mark, Brooks helped the defense tighten it up.

Then she hit two free throws to make the deficit but one again. Finally, she screened for Simone DeLoach, who took a pass from fellow-senior Tabitha Gerardot and went for the deciding layup.

“Larryn gave it to her and she gave it to me and I went up,” said DeLoach. “I don’t know if it was drawn up that way or that is just the way it went, but we’ll take it. It’s still a little blurry to me.”

“For all of us. This huge because none of us have ever felt winning a game this big,” said Gereradot.

“All coach wanted us to do was buy into his program,” said DeLoach, who was already on campus when the current coach arrived.

Their coach would mention how fitting it was that seniors combined on the one time they were ahead the whole game, even if it was the rookies who got them to that break point.

“We’re all going to make mistakes as freshmen,” said Brooks. “It is all about moving forward and that is what we are going to do.”

The 11-2 closing run marked a 14-point comeback. Indiana held a 16-6 advantage in second chance points and outrebounded Northwestern 37-34
I.U. has the most wins in program history.

Brooks led all scorers with 27 points, moving her into seventh in program history for single-season scoring with 538 points.

The I.U. rookies scored 56 of the total. Freshman Alexis Gassion scored 10, as did Lyndsay Leikem (with eight rebounds). Brooks’ four assists sets the rookie record at the school, 150; her 65 3s is also a rookie record and fifth for a season on the all-time list.

The Hoosiers committed 11 turnovers in the first half and shot 39.4 percent from the field, but also hit 11 3s. The 251 3s is a program season record.

At home, IU was 14-4, the most home wins since the 1997-98 season. They drew 3.065 for the finale, while the students were away at spring break.

Coach Curt Miller ties the all-time postseason wins record for head coaches in program history.

“It’s a big win for our program and our fans were absolutely the reason we won,” he said. “So a big thank-you to the administration for believing how important home games are in this tournament.

“I was about positive as I could be in the huddles tonight, saying “Hang in there, hang in there.’ I thought we had more one more run if we could just keep the crowd in the game with us.

“If you are ever going to lead, we picked the time to lead in the game.”

Indiana is in the NIT quarterfinals at South Dakota State (25-9) in Sioux Falks, the team that eliminated Minnesota in its Sweet 16 game.

• Bowling Green 63, Michigan 53: As for Michigan, see the note about attaining a 20-win season above.

And Bowling Green had 29 wins, most of any team not in the NCAA. The MAC just don’t get no respect.

Now they have 30 and Michigan (20-14) is done as the only conference university with both basketball teams in a Sweet 16.

Ironically, the first game of the season was a loss to Bowling Green.

So the four and a half months inbetween proved what?

According to best young coach in the game, Kim Barnes Arico, “I think our team really grew (during the season), really improved and really found its identity,” she said. “Bowling Green is a tough matchup, and they’re extremely tough at home. They had a great atmosphere here tonight. I think they had the edge playing here.”

In Ohio, junior guard Nicole Elmblad scored 15 for UofM, with seven rebounds and two assists. Goree joined her in double figures with 12 points and eight rebounds, setting a program rebounding season record at 317. Michigan hit 40 percent from the field, while the home team hit 55.8 percent.

“I think this time that we played them we definitely started off a lot stronger,” Elmblad said. “This time we were more focused and ready to lock up on defense, but unfortunately we didn’t hold that the entire first half and they were able to make a good run.”

The teams traded surges early. An Elmblad three-point play on a backdoor cut with 7:04 made it 19-all. Then Bowling Green went on an 8-2 run and closed the half with a 4-0 move that left it 31-22 Bowling Green.

In the second half, the Falcons took their largest lead of the game, 41-30, with 14:34 left, later hitting nine straight to put the game away.

The 2,351 points scored this season is a program record. The nine road wins is also a school record. The 512 team assists is another school record. The 38.3 season percent on 3s is the final school record.

Still, the Falcons hit nine 3s in the game, a real difference as Michigan hit three.

And Michigan had won its first two NIT games by an average of 38 points.

“We got some good looks, but we couldn’t get shots to fall and there were some calls we didn’t get to go our way,” Barnes Arico said. “I think that took the wind out of our sails and they countered and scored. … But overall this season, we’ve shown tremendous growth.”

She will now have a new summer challenge, as an assistant to South Carolian’s Dawn Staley with USA Basketball’s junior national team.

• South Dakota State 70, Minnesota 62: Sioux Falls has never been a spring break destination for any college kid from Minnesota. Never will be. And perhaps is now a place to avoid.

This was a double loss for the Gophers (22-13). Not only did it end the season with a respectable record but it cost their coach her job. Minnesota obviously thinks it can over-reach and get someone better. That’s not likely, but athletic directors will do what they do.

First, the game.

University of Minnesota redshirt freshman Amanda Zahui B.broke the Big Ten and Minnesota single-season rebounding records, matched her career-high with 26 points and posted her 18th double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.

That was fine, but not enough.

Zahui B. scored 514 points on .543 shooting and set program records with 394 rebounds and 105 blocks. Illinois’ Jenna Smith set the Big Ten record of 397 rebounds in a season since 2010.

All-conference junior Rachel Banham, the best scorer in the B1G, scored 23 – with a career-high six 3s -- of her 25, in the second half. The Minnesota single-season record holder for points scored 750 this season, 1,993 for her career.

So Zahui B. and Banham, are solid building blocks for whomever coaches them next season.

Minnesota out-shot South Dakota State, .411-.354, but lost the battle on the boards, 35-45, with the Jackrabbits grabbing 19 offensive rebounds.

The firing: One of the in-the-bunker sportswriters who cover Minnesota actually confronted the NCAA Selection Committee for not picking the Gophers and maybe that is where the administration lost its mind.

Pam Borton is gone with the required “We wish her well” in future endeavors sendoff.

Ten years ago, Borton guided the Gophers to their only Final Four. She led the school to NCAA tournament appearances in six of her first seven seasons.

But a program she helped revive has not made the NCAAs since 2009.

Borton is the winningest coach in program history with a 236-152 record in 12 seasons at the school. The 22 wins this time are their most victories since the Final Four team.

“I am grateful for my 12 seasons at the University of Minnesota,” was the university-issued statement. “This is a great state and university, and I have enjoyed becoming a part of this community.”

It was an up-and-down tenure in Minneapolis for Borton, who helped make women's basketball relevant again in Minnesota, but also dealt with a mass exodus of players from the program midway through.

She was the ultimate fix for the mess former Tennessee player Cheryl Littlejohn left behind in 2001, with major NCAA rules violations.

Brenda Oldfield, now Brenda Frese, engineered a remarkable turnaround with a 22-8 record, a significant spike in attendance and advancement to the second round of the NCAA tournament. She left for Maryland after one year (ironically next year back in the Big Ten for her).

Then athletic director Joel Maturi picked Borton, a Boston College assistant, as her replacement. Borton had four seasons on her resume as the head coach at Vermont prior to that.

With the foundation set, and outstanding point guard Lindsay Whalen pumping attendance, the Gophers reached the NCAA Regional semifinals in Borton's first year. Then came the Final Four in Season 2, followed by a return to the Sweet 16 the year after that.

But the Gophers never recaptured the magic without Whalen and Janel McCarville, each of whom helped lead the Minnesota Lynx to a WNBA championship last year, reminding state fans of what has been not replaced.

In 2006, following a first-round ouster from the NCAA tournament, starters Jamie Broback, Natasha Williams and Liz Podominick, reserves Brittney Davis and Lauren Lacey, and assistant coach Dave Stromme left the program within three weeks after the end of the season.

A five-week investigation into the departures by the athletic department declared poor communication the cause of "misunderstandings" and "feelings of mistrust" among coaches and players, but support for Borton never wavered.

In fact, two weeks before Maturi retired in June 2012, he gave Borton a two-year contract extension that the university never publicly announced.

In the four seasons between 2009 and 2013, attendance continued to decrease and the Gophers went a combined 62-66, with just one WNIT appearance.

With Banham, the Gophers were a little better this season, finishing 8-8 in conference play, but 0-8 against the top five teams in the Big Ten and winless against Top 50 teams.

They had better find someone good quickly in a growing league. It says here they are forever anchored in the second group of the B1G conference.

SEC

•Mississippi State 59, Auburn 54: OK, now the organizers are just messin’ with us. Two SEC teams?

Even though Mississippi State (22-13) is our favorite league team poised for a breakthrough next season, the Bulldogs had already made their post-season adventure count by getting past 20 wins And the matchup guaranteed an SEC team into the Elite 8. Since the War Eagles had swept the season’s games, this one had to be there.

The War Eagles fall one game shy of the magic 20-win marker.

The Bulldogs rallied from a 14-point deficit early in the second half and earn game back home in the Sweet 16, against South Florida (22-12).

To celebrate, State is letting the first 600 students in free, with free pizza to the first 200.

The Bulldogs’ victories are the most since 2009. With the win, this Bulldog squad also becomes the first in program history to win three postseason games.

“Once again, this team doesn’t quit,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. “Resilient is the word. We did not have a good stretch in the first half. To come out in the second half and have that kind of effort … this team is different.

“It’s a credit to our kids. Their confidence never wavers. My hat is off to them. I feel very blessed and fortunate to be the coach of these kids. We are giving God the glory, because I sometimes think a higher power is in charge.”

Auburn started strong with a 10-3 lead.

A Kendra Grant basket brought MSU to 17-13. Auburn stretched the lead to eight twice in the next five minutes.

Auburn shot 54.5 percent from the field in the opening half and led 28-19 at the intermission.

In the early stages of the second half, a basket by Katia May brought Mississippi State to 32-25. Auburn answered with seven straight to build the game’s largest lead at 14 points.

Back came the Bulldogs as Auburn got sloppy.

The Tigers were called for 27 fouls and had three players foul out, All-SEC senior Tyrese Tanner and post players Tra'Cee Tanner and Peyton Davis.

MSU forced 26 turnovers for a second consecutive game.

State got its biggest spark in the second half from Grant, who scored 15 of the game-high 20 then.

“The coaches have been talking to me all year about carrying what I do in practice to the game,” Grant said. “In the first half, I missed some shots. In the second half, I was going to do anything I could because we did not want to lose this game.”

A 12-2 run by MSU brought them to 41-37 with 9:02 left, after a 3 by Jerica James. Seconds later, a Grant 3 had the deficit to one at 41-40. Back-to-back baskets by Grant finally pushed the MSU to an advantage, 46-43 with 6:38 left in the contest.

The lead switched hands a couple of more times before the Bulldogs took the lead for good.

Two free throws by Breanna Richardson gave the Bulldogs the lead with 1:25 left. A free throw by Savannah Carter and two by James helped close out the
win. Auburn did not score over the final 1:44.

“Once we knocked down a couple of shots, it got everything going,” James said.

The Bulldogs hit 37.3 percent from the field and 19 of 33 from the line. Auburn hit 43.5 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from the line.

The teams were even at 35 rebounds apiece. MSU had 12 assists and 23 turnovers, while Auburn had eight assists and 26 turnovers.

“Our kids forced 26 turnovers again,” Schaefer said. “That doesn’t happen standing around in a 2-3 zone. That is how we played defensively. That is how we attack.”

Martha Alwal posted her 12th double-double of the season and 31st of her career with 11 points and 11 rebounds for MSU. She also blocked five shots, tying the single-season school record with 97.

A crowd of 1,809 attended.




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Guru's Musings: The Fates of Rutgers' Triumph in the WNIT And Seton Hall's Exit Determined at 0.02

By Mel Greenberg

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Rutgers' 91-79 doubleovertime victory over neighboring Seton Hall Thursday night in round three of the Women's NIT at the Scarlet Knights' Louis A. Brown Athletic Center is a misread for the way things went most of the evening and beyond.

It's sort of like posting the final score of Mexican general Santa Anna's troops versus the men of the Alamo after Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, et al had extended the siege to 13 days against an opponent of overwhelming numbers in the winter of 1836.

But the difference between agony for Rutgers (25-9) and ecstasy for Seton Hall (20-14) as opposed to the agony felt by the Pirates and relief felt by the Scarlet Knights came down to 0.02 seconds left in regulation.

That moment in a game that had 11 ties and 18 lead chances came right after Rutgers had rallied from a 60-52 deficit with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left before the final buzzer.

Betnijah Laney's jumper with 11 seconds left gave Rutgers a 61-60 lead but Ka-Deidre Simmons got the the advantage back at 62-61 with five seconds left.

Then as Rutgers raced down the court to try to win the game, Simmons was called for a foul on Bryiona Canty with the 0.02 left on the clock.

So here we were like some several times in the past with Rutgers Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer, most notably that famed moment when Dukes' Lindsey Harding went to the line in the Sweet 16 in 2007 with 0.01 left and missed both shots allowing Rutgers to ultimately advance to the national title game won by Tennessee in Cleveland.

But here we also were at the moment that would have been delightful icing on the cake for the magnificent job Tony Bozzella had done his first season with the Pirates after leaving a long stint at Iona.

However, the drama was not about to end when Canty went to the line.

She missed the first attempt but made the second to send the game into the initial overtime.

Rutgers had control with a six-point lead at 72-66 with 1:54 left in the extra period but Seton Hall, which was losing key players down the stretch of the game because of fouls, launched a 6-0 run that got it tied by Tabatha Richardson-Smith on a layup with 15 srconds remaining to force another overtime.

By then it was the Rutgers all-Americans against the Seton Hall reserves and a Scarlet Knights' 13-0 start to the second period sealed Seton Hall's doom.

Thus Rutgers moves on to a quarterfinals game at Bowling Green Monday night still alive with the chance to succeed Drexel as this year's champion.

Three Scarlet Knights scored 20 points in a game for the first time this season with rookie Tyler Scaife setting a career high with 29 points while Kahleah Copper of Philadelphia had 27 points and Betnijah Laney had her 15th double double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Rachel Hollivay grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

While Rutgers had a slim advantage in the paint 36-34 the Scarlet Knights shot 35-41 at the foul line, including Copoper's 13-for-15 and Laney's 8-for-8.

Seton Hall was 14-for-22.

The home team's bench outscored the Pirates reserves 35-12 though to be fair Scaife, who has been a regular starter, was not in the lineup at the outset.

Richardson-Smith had 28 points for Seton Hall, which brought two busloads of fans, while Simmons had 16, and Alexis Brown scored 11. Ali Bra'Shey grabbed 13 rebounds.

Had the score gone the other way, Rutgers' next stop would be to membership in the Big Ten and the season would be ended in disappointment over not making the NCAA.

Questions would again start to appear on the resolution of Stringer's contract situation, which expires at the end of the season or thereabouts.

Recent reports said negotiations over a renewal were in the final stages.

"I know we have the pieces," Stringer said following the game and speaking of her talent. "It's just mental."

In some instances, the way it played out, perhaps after early struggles in the tournament with wins over Delaware 65-61 and Harvard 63-52 also at home this game might be the spark to launch Rutgers straight to the trophy case.

Meanwhile, for Bozzella there's much to be proud of in terms of the future and competition on a leveling playing field in the reconfigured Big East.

But there will be much to wince over how close this game for a second straight shocker following last season's upset when Anne Donovan was at the helm.

"A year ago today at my (introductory) press conference I don't think anyone thought we would be here playing one of the best college games of the year," he reflected. "That's a lot of credit to the young ladies at Seton Hall."

As for that minute seconds of a difference, though there were missed opportunities to get to a larger lead before the call, Bozzella was quasi-philosophical.

"They're big time officials," he said. "I thought (Canty) lost control of the ball and kind of carried it. But because she had it so high, I think (Simmons) just ran into her a that point.

"At the end of the game, it's hard to tell. They're trying to do their best. We're trying to do our best. But we could have given up at that point.

"But there's many plays we could look back on. But it's tough. You're 0.02 away from advancing to the Elite Eight. It's frustrating."

As for the finish in the final overtime, Bozzella didn't have to teach much math: "We were out of gas. We had no players left. We couldn't be as aggressive as we want. It's hard. They're a good team. It's very difficult."

But in terms of the rivalry, Bozzella wouldn't mind seeing it continue though the two schools are no longer in the same conference.

"We need to get the date. We need to play each other every year. We're two of the top programs in the state along with Princeton.

"This was a great game. This was fun. We need to make this a rivalry. They return their players, we return most of our players. Let's play -- at Seton Hall."

Stringer wasn't opposed to the two meeting but referenced to her scheduling this year that became a factor in Rutgers not being taken as an at-large team by the NCAA committee.

"We just have to be very careful because that's what got us into this situation (not in the NCAAs.)."

The Big Ten competition will solve a large chunk of that problem as opposed to the weakened opposition in the one-year stay in the American Athletic Conference.

But for now, there's still a title to win and as Drexel demonstrated last year, great joy can be had from hosting the trophy.

-- Mel




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Mike Siroky's Big Ten Report: The Sole Survivor

By Mike Siroky

The Big Ten is still having growing pains. Some upsets and some expectations all came true in the Round of 32, with the bottom line there is but one, a No. 3 seed, into the Sweet 16.

That is regular-season champ Penn State, which won at home when others did not and thus earns final bragging rights to the conference a season.

They have two immediate speed bumps in their way before a Final Four fantasy can come true so, for now, it is just California Dreamin’ at the Stanford Regional where they will meet those high-flying No. 2 Cardinals.

Here’s how the almost total devastation played out for the not so B1G:

•No. 3 Penn State 83, No. 11 Florida 61: State is the last Big Ten survivor and was at home, which only underlines the difference of competitive conference strengths. Still, it did eliminate an SEC team which carries some bragging rights.

Kayla Lewis led the 11th-seeeded Gators with 20 points and nine rebounds. Jaterra Bonds scored 14 in her final game, a career in which she was won 80 games in 116 starts.

"They pressured us up," Lewis said. "We turned the ball over a little bit too much."

The Gators, who surprised No. 6 Dayton in the first round, could never dig out of a cold start, pressured into missing 10 of 13 shots to open the game. Much like how they put away Wichita State in the opener with a 17-0 run, the Lady Lions used an early 11-0 spurt to build a lead they would never surrender.

Carlie Needles hit a pair of 3s to straighten out the offense, and Florida chipped the deficit to six.

"I'm sure the folks that are here that aren't familiar with our team figured we'd fold our hands and go away," Gator coach Amanda Butler said.

But the run didn't last long enough. Butler let her emotions get the best of her in a big game, waving her arms in protest over a call and was whistled for a technical.

Lucas, a 95 percent free throw shooter, hit both free throws to help send the Lady Lions into halftime with a 43-32 lead.

The Nittany Lions (24-7) led by as many as 28 with 11:37 to go and won each half by at least 10. Dara Taylor and Maggie Lucas each scored 22. Taylor also had eight rebounds. Kayla Lewis was best for Florida, with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Two-time conference Player-of-the-Year Maggie Lucas had a fine farewell for a last home game in front of 3,500 fans. She even kissed the school image at midcourt before she left, the final player to depart for the trip to California and the Stanford Regional, where they will take on the No. 2 home team (30-2).

"That we're able to share it with the fans, it's just a whole better feeling," Lucas said. "It's a great way to go out."

She passed the 2,500 career-point milestone. She has her team in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons. 13th overall.

Ariel Edwards added 16 points for Penn State. The Lady Lions are in the Sweet 16 for the 13th time

“It’s just sweet,” coach Coquese Washington said. “It’s like dark chocolate with caramel sweet.”

Lucas picked up her fourth foul with 7:50 left in the game, but no danger, the Lions were ahead by 16. She took a seat for about three minutes. She could have sat out the rest until California.

Lucas got her due in her final home game, leaving for the final time to a standing ovation. She clapped her hands, waved her arms and pointed to the fans before hugging her teammates.

“It isn’t about history, it isn’t about the future,” Washington said. “It was, ‘What do we have to do tonight to play against a really good Florida team.’ ”

Penn State started with pressure defense that rattled the Gators early and eventually forced them into 20. They rarely hit a slow patch on offense, shooting 52 percent in the second halfs.

Now, it's off to California.

"Let's go for a ride and see how it turns out," Washington said, as a coast-to-coast chase begins.

•No. 4 North Carolina 62, No. 5 Michigan State 53: Not an upset so much as a tragedy, with the co-champions of the Big Ten regular season falling to a tough team at their place. It was an ACC elimination of another conference’s team, though.

Two days after tallying a double-double and setting a program rebounding record in the tournament, redshirt freshman Aerial Powers played like a freshman, in foul trouble and without a basket. Her initial season ended with a torn left Achilles' tendon, this season simply ended.

"I think they were really ready for her and up in her," Spartans coach Suzy Merchant said. "They did a nice job of collapsing on her or getting up in her. We're a better team than we what we showed ."

Powers came in as a first-team all-Big Ten pick and leading the Spartan scoring at 13.8.

Another freshman, North Carolina’s Diamond DeShields had 24 points and a season-high 12 rebounds.

The Tar Heels led by nine at halftime then controlled the opening minutes of the second half, a 14-0 run while MSU was missing 14 straight shots.

UNC pressured the Spartans (23-10) and turned the game into the up-and-down pace they wanted. They finished with a 17-4 edge in fast-break points and 15 points off turnovers in a huge improvement from their first-round struggles against UT Martin.

The Tar Heels had reached the regional semifinals just once in the past five seasons, losing in the second round last year and missing the tournament in 2012. Now they're heading west to face top seed South Carolina.

State’s Jasmine Hines matched her season high with 16 points while Tori Jankoska had 14 for the Spartans, who just couldn't keep up with DeShields and the Tar Heels.

Perhaps, Merchant implied, State needs to toughen up its non-conference schedule to get ready for physical play

“It was the most physical game I've been involved in in a long time,” Merchant said.

“I mean, I can say that. And we play some really, really tough teams and just felt like off the ball and on the ball there was a lot of physicality and physical plays and very aggressive physicality and I just . . . there were times I thought we responded to it and we just can't overcome it when you get in those situations, and so that was what I will comment on and that's not how we've been practicing and preparing.

“Certain things you expect and sometimes it doesn't go your way. I felt like North Carolina was a better team today regardless but the physical play was something that I was disappointed in, but it's part of the deal I guess.”

Jankoska said the players knew they fell to expectations.

“Well, we knew we played a terrible first half and we knew that. We came into the second half thinking that we would come in and we needed to hit the open shots and make sure we we're moving the ball around and not turning the ball over as much.

"I guess it didn't happen; we kind of played the same as we did in the first half and for the first 14 minutes of the second half.”

•No. 3 Louisville 83, No. 6 Iowa 56: Again, not an upset except the angle of playing at home is supposed to turn out better. But the Cardinals definitely feel snubbed, successfully flying back home as Regional hosts with yet another speed bump in the unexpected No. 7 LSU Bengals knocking off No. 2 West Virginia.

So, instead of playing a former Big East sorority sister, Louisville gets LSU and its mystery progression. Though LSU is also finally away from home to their moxie is a little suspect. They also lost their senior starting point guard to a concussion and no one knows yet if she’ll play. As an comparison, Tennessee lost its point guard to a concussion in January and she had not played again, although she practices every day.

Towards Louisville’s advantage is the thought they were nationally ranked in the top four but considered a No. 3 seed for various debatable factors.

For Iowa, a seventh straight NCAA ended all too soon, the first loss at home to a nonconference opponent this season.

No matter what the Hawkeyes tried, it didn’t work. A flurry of 3 attempts, 16, connected only once. Louisville built the lead to 38 and then put it in coast.

Then again, as Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said, “They only scored four points more than their average.”

In other words, Louisville’s defense worked and Iowa’s did not.

Iowa hit 33.3 percent from the field; Louisville 53.1 percent. The Cardinals’s bench outscored Iow’as reserves, 24-2.

Freshman Ally Disterhoft led Iowa with 15 points and eight rebounds, with 10 points coming in the first half. She scored eight straight Hawkeye points from the end of the first half to the beginning of the second. Junior Samantha Logic added 12 points, five steals and five rebounds; lone senior Theairra Taylor scored 10.

Taylor had persevered through three knee surgeries to complete an 111-game career. She finishes with 916 points, 461 rebounds, and 238 assists.

"The team loves her," Bluder said. "We wanted this for her really badly."

For Taylor, her career will not be remembered by the final game.

"I played with a great group, great coaching staff," Taylor said. "We didn't go out the way we wanted to. But coach said we can't remember the season off of just this game. This is one of my favorite seasons being here as a Hawkeye. It's something I want to remember as a wonderful journey."

The Hawkeyes' 27 victories this season equals the second-highest total in program history.

Iowa's 14 home wins equals the second-highest single-season total in school history.

Seven of Iowa's nine losses this season came against ranked opponents.

•No. 12 BYU 80, No. 4 Nebraska 76: The lowest seed to qualify was yet not a surprise. Memo to ’Huskers coach Connie Yori: Schedule BYU in the regular season. This marks two successive eliminations of Nebraska by a worse-seeded BYU team.

It may be in the end pressure got to senior conference Player-of- the-Year Jordan Hooper had a subpar playoffs as they desperately tried to get home for a final chance to host a Regional.

Yori even joked she could provide maps and lists of things to see and do. But that is a bittersweet payoff for the promise of a major home playoff, even if
UConn is the top seed.

No. 13-ranked Nebraska (26-7) could not quite rally from a 17-point deficit.

Brigham Young got a series of 3s from unexpected shooters. Perhaps just a coincidence, but the BYO bench outscored their Nebraska counterparts by 17.

In her final game Hooper scored 20 with four rebounds; she finishes with more 2,300 points and 1,100 rebounds.

Junior forwards Emily Cady and Hailie Sample, who both started the 100th games of their careers, each finished the season with double-doubles. Cady had 13 points and 10 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season and second of the NCAA Tournament. Sample had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Tear'a Laudermill led the Huskers with 22 points, including 12 in closing 2:17. Laudermill was 3-of-9 on 3s and 7-of-7 from the line. Rachel Theriot had 11 points, nine assists and five steals, but was 4-of-15 from the floor.

BYU twice a 17-point leads in the final four minutes of the opening half. But Nebraska rallied with a 10-4 close -- six from Sample -- to cut the margin to 41-30 at the half.

“I thought we were still in the game, obviously,” said Yori. “We are a team that has comeback. We have made a lot of comebacks in the last few years. We never feel like we are out of it.

"You just got to keep playing and take care of your possessions and we hope to get a little bit more flow on offense and we did. We got more aggressive and got some things in transition which led to some different things for us.”

Light-scoring point guards Kylie Maeda and Stephanie Rovetti did the most damage for the Cougars. The duo combined for four 3s, 2-of-2 by Maeda and 2-of-4 by Rovetti, who matched her season output on made 3s.

Nebraska got the deficit to one point midway through the second half. At the moment, it looked good for Nebraska as Hamson, BYU's leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker Jennifer Hamson had to sit down with her fourth foul.

But BYU would not fold, hitting six of its next eight shots, including a trio of 3s by Xojian Henry, matching her conference season makes. The Cougars pushed the lead back to 12 points at 69-57 with 6:24 left. BYU maintained an 11-point lead with 3:30 left and nine points with 2:17 remaining.

Nebraska had one surge left. Laudermill led Nebraska back with 12 points and several defensive stops to cut the Cougar margin to 78-76 with 4.4 seconds left. But Hamson hit a pair of free throws with 2.8 seconds left to seal it.

BYU finished with 50.9 percent from the field, hit 43.5 percent on 3s and hit 14-of-20 free throws.

Nebraska hit 38 percent from the field, 28 percent on 3s and 20-of-23 free throws.

On the team’s effort, “This group has been phenomenal to work with,” said Yori. “We’re asking these guys to play 40 minutes game in and game out against really good competition. We substitute very little, we wish we
had a little bit better depth.

"Our grit and our toughness has been our strength all year. I can’t ask to work with a better group of women. Jordan’s a leader. She’s been this kind of person for us all four years," Yori said.

Not one time in four years have I had to question her on her character or work
ethic. I’m so proud I had a chance to coach them every day.” For her part, Hooper said she’d be at the Regional on her home floor.

On BYU playing in their arena next week

“I’ll be rooting for BYU. But it will definitely hurt not being out there one last time.”

•No. 5 Oklahoma State 73, No. 4 Purdue 66: Same old same old for the Boilermakers; host a sub-Regional, win the opener and then just stay home.

There is something to be said about losing at home and being able to deal with it among family and friends and then again no one wants to lose.

Purdue knows it lost a lot of momentum when senior team leader K.K. Houser blew out a knee a few weeks back and was rendered inactive. But they made no excuses for just coming close.

The Boilermakers shot just 37.9 percent from the field and finished with 18 turnovers. They have now lost four straight in the second round, three of those against No. 5 seeds with two of those coming at Mackey Arena.

Top reserve Whitney Bays finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Moses had 11 points and broke the school's record for 3-pointers. She ends her career with 240, two more than Katie Gearlds.

Bays said State was difficult to stop.

“It seemed like everybody was crashing,” Bays said. “We would box one person out and someone would get loose. They were getting long rebounds too, so it was difficult at first.”

“I’m never satisfied,” Bays said. “I missed a couple of crucial free throws and could have boxed out better.”

But that is little consolation for a team that hasn't reached the Regional since 2009.

"They controlled the tempo,” coach Sharon Versyp said. “We couldn't get where we needed to be. We needed to rebound better and box out better."

By the time Purdue figured all that out, it was too late.
“We talked in the locker room about all the adversity we went through,” Moses said. “To hear from people’s mouths who went through that adversity thank us as a team — that means more to me than winning.”

Oklahoma State refused to let anything top their own plan. It even includes breaking a crazy string of win one/lose one which stretched back to the start of the year.

Not another second-half collapse, not its penchant for alternating wins and losses and certainly not Tiffany Bias' injury. Instead, the Cowgirls found a way to persevere one more time.

Brittney Martin finished with 20 points and 20 rebounds, LaShawn Jones added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Oklahoma State is in its first Sweet 16 in six seasons.

Martin finished three rebounds short of matching the first- and second-round record in a single tourney game, a mark that has stood since 1985.

“We wanted to win. That sounds silly, but I was going as hard as I could. I was going to get it done," Martin said. “She had the game of her life,” observed Versyp.
It was an ultimate comeback for a program rocked 2 1/2 years ago by a fatal plane crash that claimed the lives of seven-year coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna. They had been on a recruiting trip. The pilot and his wife also died.

Coach Jim Littell has resurrected the program with the best three seasons in program history.

The Cowgirls (25-8) won the 2012 WNIT -- for the school's first post-season title of any kind. Last season, they were on the verge of the Sweet 16 until a second-half collapse of more than 16 at Duke. But the 69 wins in these three most-recent seasons are a school record.

The prize: Notre Dame at Notre Dame.

Like so many programs at this point in the elimination season, Oklahoma State lost a key player. Attrition may come as seasons lengthen and players wear out. LSU, for instance, lost its entire backcourt to injuries and it staggered into the Sweet 16 with a major upset

Bias stepped awkwardly on another player's foot with 14:04 left in the game as Purdue's Courtney Moses drove to the basket.

The star point guard stayed down for several minutes, then was carried directly into the locker room.

She didn't return until the 2:45 mark but the unanimous all-conference selection wasn't going to miss this one for anything, even though she was gingerly lifted by a teammate in the postgame celebration while most of the other players jumped up and down and climbed into the stands.

And she doesn't expect to miss the next game, either.

"I think it will be fine," Bias said, lying on the floor with the ice-covered ankle raised on her locker bench. "Our trainer is great and we'll do a whole bunch of rehab between now and then. But we've got great players, too."

Oklahoma State took control quickly with an early 17-10 lead before giving it right back. The Cowgirls answered with a 9-2 spurt to rebuild a 28-22 lead and never trailed again.

They led 38-31 at the half, opened the second half on a 9-1 spurt and then allowed Purdue to get as close as 52-46 when Bias left.

But the Cowgirls came right back with a 15-6 run that made it 61-47 and Purdue never got closer than nine until the final basket.

"Our unity and chemistry was unbelievable. We couldn't have won had we had just one or two play well," Littell said. "(Roshunda) Johnson hit big shots, she shouldered the load when Bias went down. Martin had a career night with huge numbers. A rebounding machine, she put us on her back."


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Mike Siroky's SEC Report: Fab Five Still Alive

By Mike Siroky

The Southeastern Conference moved its top five teams to the Sweet 16, more than any other conference.

Throughout the year, we have been referring to the best of the SEC teams as the Fab Five, as proof of why the league is the best in America.

LSU has recovered its reputation in these playoffs, perhaps because it was at home, but nonetheless is back in the elite lists and will be ranked nationally again.

Texas A&M avoided the embarrassment of last season by winning its sub-Regional and also reascending to position itself in the final national rankings.

Kentucky won its sub-Regional and has been ranked all season.

The two No,. 1 seeds, regular-season champ South Carolina and league champ Tennessee, stampeded to their expected Regional positions. Each has a home team likely awaiting them in this last season of allowing such silliness, if the seedings play out through the Sweet 16 semifinals.

This week, we will find out if any SEC team can make a Final Four. It would be a first for Kentucky or South Carolina, a second in this decade for LSU (though the first with this coaching group), a first for A&M as a member of the conference and a continuation of tradition for Tennessee, though the first in four seasons, including this one.

Here’s how the Fab Five got to the Regional levels:

•No. 1 Tennessee 67, St. John’s 51: One of the reasons you bid for home sub-Regionals is to attract a favorable crowd. If you can also get a top seed, you also get a favorable draw.

So it is that the Lady Vols move on to the Louisville Regional Sweet 16 with winning margins of 24 and 16.

The energizing Cierra Burdick made sure lone senior Meighan Simmons continued her phenomenal career, Burdick scoring 21 with 11 rebounds.

The ride that coach Holly Warlick and Simmons have been on is not through just yet.

With 1:57 to go, Simmons got her final home celebration moment. Freshman Jordan Reynolds was sent in for her and the place erupted, 5,961 in approval.

“All I could do was smile,” Simmons said. “It's one of those things where it will always be a memorable moment in my life. The fans are just amazing. That's one thing that helped me make my decision to come here was the fan base. I couldn't be more happy with the way I played the last four years and how I've grown as a player. I was glad I was able to share the gift I have with the fans, my teammates and my coaches.
“I was speechless,” she said of the moment.

Simmons scored 17 points despite being limited to 26 minutes with foul trouble in the first and early in the second half. She also forced a pair of steals, both of which led to fast-break buckets that helped push the Lady Vol advantage as high as 21 points down the stretch.

Each of those steals led to cheers, a thunder that reached its peak when Simmons finished each with a layup. Simmons scored eight points during a 16-2 spurt that turned a 43-41 advantage into a 59-43 runaway.

Her final home record is 60-8, 6-0 in NCAA Tournament home games. She scored in double figures in all 18 home contests this season.

“I will tell you this, that kid has been under just a tremendous amount of pressure since she has been here,” Warlick said. She was the recruiter who found and signed her.

“As a freshman we asked her to step in and start and score a lot of points. So everybody's expectations have just been greatness for Meighan. I have just watched her grow. I love her respect for this program, her love for this university, love for these fans.”

Center Izzy Harrison could coast in this one. The junior center, receiving a lot of All-America votes, was only needed for 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The rebounds margin put the pride of Tennessee, its defense, was on full display. St. John's shot 5-of-24 overall and 5-of-11 from the free throw line and committed 13 turnovers in the second half.

“"I think in the beginning of the season, we let our offense dictate our defense,” Burdick said. “That’s why we weren’t successful sometimes. I think we’ve really become smarter. We know that defense and rebounding are going to win us basketball games. At first, we just would say it because it was the right thing to say, but now we actually believe it.”

Tennessee (29-5) has won 15 of 16, including a final home upset of league leader South Carolina and the league conference tournament.

UT moves on to the Louisville Regional, where the home team still lives as the No. 2 seed. The historical significance is that UT is seeking Final Four for the first time in three seasons after a program record in which every player who stayed four seasons made at least one Final Four. That means Simmons is the only one left with Final Four experience.

Tennessee gets No. 4 Maryland in its Elite eight matchup as the turtles finish their ACC tenure with a flourish before joining the Big Ten next season.

•No. 1 South Carolina 78, No. 9 Oregon state 69: The Gamecocks were sent to Seattle in the Stanford Regional, so there would be no host team in the sub-Regional to challenge them in the opening games. The West positioning is reflective of the loss in the conference league tournament as well as underlining the reputation is just now flowering but does not yet demand close-to-home credits.

In this qualifier, they erased last year’s disappointment of losing in Game 2 last season.

The Gamecocks left no doubt Tuesday night, leaving Oregon State bruised and erasing all those memories of being upset in the second round a year ago.

So they head to their second Sweet 16 in the past three seasons.

"We knew from the get-go we wanted to be aggressive and not back down to their size," Aleighsa Welch said. "What we wanted to emphasize was to go right through them. Not try and go around them or try to go over the top but go right through them, through their chest. I think it paid off."

All-conference selection Welch had 21 points and 11 rebounds, conference player-of-the-Year Tiffany Mitchell scored all 20 of her points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Welch's quickness around the rim had the Beavers flustered. Whether she was following up misses or getting open for her own shot, Oregon State struggled to slow the junior forward. Welch made 8-of-11 from the field.

South Carolina also outscored Oregon State 34-9 at the free throw line, many of those coming in the final two minutes, when all OSU could do was foul and hope for a miss Mitchell was 10-of-11 at the line.

"We're not satisfied with making it to the Sweet 16," Welch said. "We want to make a deeper run in this tournament. We can't get caught up in the fact we're here. This isn't where we want our season to end."

Leading scorer Sydney Wiese, a freshman was coming off a career-high 26 in the first round. South Carolina showed SEC defense and harassed her into missing her first 12 shots before hitting a 3-pointer with 1:30 left. Wiese finished with eight points.

"That's a hard feat. Sydney Wiese is a really good player. She really is," Staley said.

"She can stroke it, find other teammates, controls the tempo. I thought we did a terrific job of controlling all those aspects of her game. The only reason why we win this game is we don't allow her to get her average and allow her to play comfortably in the flow of their offense."

"The interesting thing about this team in just watching, there's times when we think, 'Oh, we can play with that team,' and then as soon as you get close, they hit a different gear," Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said of the Gamecocks. "I think that's what's special about this group."

Now comes North Carolina, the No. 4 in this 1-2-3-4 bracket. The Tar Heels won at home by 12 this season in the only SC loss of a 16-1 start. "This is a matchup we wanted to see later on in the season," Welch said.

The second seed is homestanding Stanford, a tradition-rich program which had three straight Final Fours end last year. No doubt, they want to celebrate at home with another championship round trip.

"I think it (stinks). I do," Staley said. "The people out at Stanford appreciate good basketball. I know that because we have played out there on a number of occasions, but when it's the Final Four at stake, I think it should be at neutral sites."

•No. 3 Kentucky 64, No. 6 Syracuse 59: The Wildcats, at home, continued to resurrect what once was a dislocated season with a third straight Sweet 16 run, the fifth in program history. This time to The Notre Dame Regional, where they are the lowest surviving seed. They take on No. 2 seed Baylor on Saturday.

Their Sweet 16 qualifier was not easy.

But they had the backing of the home crowd of 4,661 and the game of the season from junior starter Bria Goss to overcome the upset challenge.

Goss scored 17, including 11-of-12 from the line.

Her steady play, said coach Matthew Mitchell . . . “helped us tremendously tonight. On a night where the ball wasn’t going into the basket. She had no fear, getting to the rim, getting to the foul line and it really saved the day.”

The 12th-ranked Wildcats (26-8) used the free throws opportunities to counter Syracuse’s usual physical play. The zone defense was just enough of a hindrance to cause the home team to shoot only 36 percent from the field.

UK’s defense wasn’t bad itself, holding the Orange to 33 percent from the field and scoring 23 off 21 turnovers. Star guard Brittney Sykes was lost to a first-round knee injury.

The closest they got down the stretch was four, twice, but there were only 23 seconds left the second time. O’Neill started a 9-1 run the first time with a 3.

In her final home game, senior Denesha Stallworth scored 13, 10 in the first half. UK led at the half, 32-25 and is 22-2 this season when leading at the half.

UK had 15 steals, the most since end of 2013.

“We just had to trust the process and see it through,” said Stallworth.

“It was tough,” said Kentucky forward Azia Bishop. "They played really hard and I think we did a good job of attacking. The referees let us play a little physical, so that helped a lot too.”

Next up in the Notre Dame Regional is No. 2 Baylor, with the top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Irish still lurking there as well. The Baylor-Kentucky matchup went four overtimes in December, won by the visiting Wildcats with a total of 263 points scored.

•No. 3 Texas A&M 85, No. 11 James Madison 67: At home, the always-entertaining coach Gary Blair had forewarned his team to get better after the opening game.

They did, led by sophomore guard Courtney Williams, already getting some all-America votes and by patient senior Karla Gilbert with 20 and a career-best 15 rebounds in the last game on her home floor.

It was Gilbert, at 6-5, who had the size JMU could not match.

"We got the ball inside all night long," Blair said. "They were at a disadvantage because of their size."

The Aggies (26-8) are in the round of 16 for the sixth time and the first since being eliminated at this stage last season.

"I'm glad we're beyond this game. That's all I kept thinking about," Gilbert said of last year's loss. "We cannot end at Reed Arena. This can't be it. We're not done. We're hungry. We didn't want it to end like last year."

Several players had to spend time on the bench after picking up multiple fouls trying to slow down Gilbert.

"It handcuffed us. It really did," James Madison coach Kenny Brooks said. "We played zone way more than I anticipated and way more than I wanted to do. When we get in foul trouble, it dampers our enthusiasm."

The Aggies shot a season-high 37 free throws and made 24.

Blair raved about Gilbert, a senior who is in her first season as a starter after waiting her turn behind stars Danielle Adams and Kelsey Bone for the previous three seasons.

"She's just got heart," Blair said. "She takes control of our team ... nothing ever rattles her, and I'm proud to say that I'm her coach."

Courtney Walker, who finished with 18 points, and Williams led the Aggies as they built the lead to 10 early in the second half. James Madison missed seven shots, including three layups in that stretch.

Some 7,095 showed up in appreciation.

Next up is unexpected No. 7 DePaul (28-6), champs of the realigned Big East and a common Sweet 16 competitor. Blair has said he likes meeting new people on other teams come tournament time, so he gets his wish.

If A&M wins again, the final Final Four challenge would likely be UConn, the ghost no one has exorcised for two seasons, the No. 1 team in the land.

•No. 7 LSU 76, No. 2 West Virginia 67: No doubt this is the surprise of the playoffs and the biggest upset so far, with the only No. 2 eliminated. The former Big East member Mountaineers did not have enough to withstand LSU’s powerful determination.

The Ben-Gals showed they learned tough lessons in taking whippings during the SEC season and now can revisit those lessons learned from the other side.

Being home helped.

But they may have lost their emotional leader.

For now, Danielle Ballard helped them fight through a seven-point deficit and foul trouble.

She scored 22 with 15 rebounds and they are in their second straight advancement from LSU to the Sweet 16. As a sophomore, she has seen this scene before.

“I was like, 'We did it again!’ I was super excited,” said Ballard. She had 24 points and 17 rebounds in the first round. She and senior teammate Theresa Plaisance did the happy dance at midcourt as the buzzer sounded.

“All of my frustration went out on the ball. ... It was just a joyful moment."

Playing the last 12 minutes with four fouls, Shanece McKiney had 13 points, seven rebounds and five blocks, while DaShawn Harden added 12 point.

The Tigers (21-2) played most of the game without senior guard Jeanne Kenney, who not only averages 11.6 points per game but has been the team's emotional leader.

After Kenney left with a concussion in the first half, younger, less experienced players had to pick up the slack. Jasmine Rhodes was one of them, scoring 11 on 5-of-7 shooting after not scoring in her previous five games.

The effect of the injury, once the realization sets in this week, cannot be minimalized.

Conference foe Tennessee had its point guard with a concussion in January and she has yet to return.

"They chose to dig a little deeper and give a little more for Jeanne, because she's been just that for them for a long time," LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said. "I'm extremely proud of this team for realizing how great they can be."

Caldwell said LSU will be "very cautious" in handling Kenney's playing status going forward. She also revealed outstanding freshman guard Raigyne Moncrief injured her knee in the first round and is through for now.

Holding a seven-point lead with 5:05 left, West Virginia was on the verge of winning the first second-round NCAA game in program history, but instead fell to 0-8 in second-round games.

"We won 30 basketball games this season but we felt like we gave one away here tonight," West Virginia coach Mike Carey said.

"But we just lost our focus and weren't defending," Bussie said. "Just down the stretch, we didn't do the things we were supposed to do."

By contrast, LSU survived with two its best frontcourt players, Plaisance and McKiney, on the bench with four fouls each with 12 minutes left.

That allowed WVU to exploit mismatches with its top interior players during a 16-2 run that gave the Mountaineers a 57-50 lead.

McKiney returned with about nine minutes left and Plaisance with 6:40 to go.

Plaisance finished with nine rebounds and eight points in 28 minutes, and LSU outrebounded WVU 55-40.

West Virginia also hurt itself with poor shooting, 19-of-63 from the field (30.2 percent).

Now the challenge is homestanding Louisville (placed as a No. 3 behind West Virginia. ).

Of course, if LSU pulls the upset, the likely foe is Tennessee, a fierce rival with whom LSU has had good fortune until this season. And it would guarantee an SEC team in the Elite Eight.

The Cardinals came away with a 21-point win in the pre-season NIT.

Caldwell said what is past is not important.

“I want them to understand what they just did and what they accomplished, with the challenges that we had, was amazing. I want them to enjoy the moment. ... They deserve a full day to just enjoy beating a very good West Virginia team ... to advance to another Sweet 16,” she said.

With five SEC teams in, this is the Regional that has two.

•No. 3 Penn State 83, No. 11 Florida 61: Not an unexpected end of the season for the Gators, who never quite found a consistent rhythm all season. State is the last Big Ten survivor and was at home, which only underlines the difference of competitive conference strengths.

The Nittany Lions (24-7) led by as many as 28 with 11:37 to go and won each half by at least 10.

Dara Taylor and Maggie Lucas each scored 22. Taylor also had eight rebounds. Kayla Lewis was best for Florida, with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Two-time conference Player-of-the-Year Maggie Lucas had a fine farewell for a last home game in front of 3,500 fans. She even kissed the school image at midcourt before she left, the final player to depart for the trip to California and the Stanford Regional, where they will take on the No. 2 home team (30-2).

"That we're able to share it with the fans, it's just a whole better feeling," Lucas said. "It's a great way to go out."

She passed the 2,500 career-point milestone. She has her team in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons. 13th overall.

Ariel Edwards added 16 points for Penn State. The Lady Lions are in the Sweet 16 for the 13th time.

“It’s just sweet,” coach Coquese Washington said. “It’s like dark chocolate with caramel sweet.”

Lucas picked up her fourth foul with 7:50 left in the game, but no danger, the Lions were ahead by 16. She took a seat for about three minutes. She could have sat out the rest until California.

Lucas got her due in her final home game, leaving for the final time to a standing ovation. She clapped her hands, waved her arms and pointed to the fans before hugging her teammates.

“It isn’t about history, it isn’t about the future,” Washington said. “It was, ‘What do we have to do tonight to play against a really good Florida team.’ ”

Penn State started with pressure defense that rattled the Gators early and eventually forced them into 20. They rarely hit a slow patch on offense, shooting 52 percent in the second halfs.

Kayla Lewis led the 11th-seeeded Gators (20-13) with 20 points and nine rebounds. Jaterra Bonds scored 14 in her final game, a career in which she was won 80 games in 116 starts.

"They pressured us up," Lewis said. "We turned the ball over a little bit too much."

The Gators, who surprised No. 6 Dayton in the first round, could never dig out of a cold start, missing 10 of 13 shots to open the game.

Much like how they put away Wichita State in the opener with a 17-0 run, the Lady Lions used an early 11-0 spurt to build a lead they would never surrender.

Carlie Needles hit a pair of 3s to straighten out the offense, and Florida chipped the deficit to six.

"I'm sure the folks that are here that aren't familiar with our team figured we'd fold our hands and go away," coach Amanda Butler said.

But the run didn't last long. Butler let her emotions get the best of her in a big game, waving her arms in protest over a call, and was whistled for a technical.

Lucas, a 95 percent free throw shooter, hit both free throws to help send the Lady Lions into halftime with a 43-32 lead.

Now, it's off to California.

"Let's go for a ride and see how it turns out," Washington said, as a coast-to-coast chase begins.

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Guru's NCAA Report: Maryland Side Steps Texas to Avoid Early Death in the Second Round

By Mel Greenberg

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Two decades worth of seasons since Texas and Maryland last met and the Terrapins are still a thorn in the side of the Longhorns' attempt to accelerate progress.

Coach Brenda Frese's squad to the delight of a home crowd in the Comcast Center Tuesday night side stepped Texas and death in the second round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament when Chassidy Fussell missed a three-pointer with 38 seconds left that would have flipped a one-point deficit to a two-point lead.

"Empress (Davenport)was going for the layup and Empress set a great screen on my man so I just came off and it just didn't fall this time," Fussell said.

Then after Laurin Mincy hit a pair of foul shots for Maryland, Texas' Nekia Jones missed a trey that would have tied it with 11 seconds.

All-American Alyssa Thomas, who had been shutout in the first half on the scoreboard, then stepped to the line and sank her points numbers 15 and 16 to give the fourth-seeded Terrapins a 69-64 victory over the fifth-seeded Longhorns (22-12) and a trip to the Sweet 16 in the Louisville Regional Sunday.

"They just didn't go down," Texas second-year coach Karen Aston said of the misfires. "I would want those same players taking those same shots, in particular the shot Chas got out of the timeout was exactly what we were looking for.

"The shot Nekia got was a great shot. We didn't have any more timeouts so they improvised a little bit and I thought that was actually a really good shot to get without having any kind of timeout that created that. But again, I would draw up that same play for Chas again. Everyday."

Maryland (26-6) will meet top-seeded Tennessee (29-5) in the Yum Center, the home of Louisville which was in the top five most of the season and was the best team in the American Athletic Conference not named unbeaten Connecticut.

The defending national champion Huskies (36-0)advanced to the Lincoln (Neb.) Regional semiifnals routing Saint Joseph's 91-52 Tuesday at home in the Huskies' Gampel Pavilion on campus in Storrs.

The other part of the Louisville regional semifinal was determined later Tuesday night with third-seeded Louisville (32-4), the host of the region finals, winning 83-53 over host Iowa (27-9), the sixth seed.

Seventh-seeded LSU (21-12) hosted and upset second-seeded West Virginia 76-67 in the other game as the Mountaineers finished their season 30-5, including sharing the regular season Big 12 title with Baylor.

Back here Maryland appeared on the way to lock things up with an 11-point lead with just under eight minutes to play in regulation and a 10-point advantage at 63-53 with 4:17 left in the game.

But then Fussell and reserve Krystal Henderson connected on a pair of treys around a Maryland basket before Henderson nailed another three-pointer and Imani McGee-Stafford scored on a layup off a Maryland turnover and suddenly it was 65-64 with 1:38 left in regulation.

However, that was as far as the Longhorns surge would get and the Terrapins had their fifth win in six meetings all-time with Texas, including three in the postseason.

"Neither team deserved to lose that game," Frese said afterwwards as Maryland's women's basketball participation as an Atlantic Coast Conference member stayed alive for at least one more game before the Terrapins join the Big Ten this summer.

"I can't remember the last time I've seen Alyssa with zero points and we were tied at halftime," Frese said. "I am really happy for our seniors to able to continue with a win on their home court.

"I told them in our locker room we are not finished. I'm excited to be able to go, and we are going to make a run for the roses."

That remains to be seen whether that's attainable considering that beyond Tennessee looms a potential Elite Eight game against Louisville, coached by Frese's former assistant Jeff Walz, which knocked Maryland out in the Elite Eight in 2009.

Then the odds say next in the Women's Final Four in Nashville would be unbeaten Notre Dame, which dominated the ACC and also went unbeaten besides Connecticut, the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament.

But that's all down the road beginning on the weekend.

For now, there's the chance to savor surviving in a tight game.

"I think it's really good for us that we had to play a game like this to really understand who we are," Freese said. "When we play like the way we've played the last two games, great things are in store for us."

Thomas' 16 points became high for the game to go with her game-high 11 rebounds for Maryland.

Alicia DeVaughn scored 12 points while Laurin Mincy and freshman Lexi Brown each scored 10 points.

The Terrapins also got key support off the bench with eight points from freshman Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and nine from sophomore center Malina Howard, who had been a starter earlier in the year.

"We always talk about as a staff to just be ready for your opportunity," Frese said. "I thought Malina and Laurin Mincy were ready for their opportunity tonight; they were obviously a big piece of the runs we made tonight."

Thomas, expected to go high in the first round of next month's WNBA draft, talked about her night and early struggles.

"I was struggling to score and some of my teammates had a hot hand," the Harrisburg (Pa.) native said. "I knew I had to just be patient and wait for my opportunity.

"Sequoia (Austin) and Chloe (Pavlech) gave me confidence," she said of the halftime discussion in the locker room. "They told me they weren't worried and told me to get to the basket and keep working."

Texas' Henderson, who connected on 4-for-5 attempted treys, had a team high 14 points while Fussell scored 13 points.

Davenport off the bench scored nine points and Nneka Enemkpali had nine points and 10 rebounds.

But McGee-Stafford, a 6-foot-7 sophomore center, was held to six points and six rebounds.

"The resilency of our team has been something that I have watched grow throughout the year and we've really become a pretty good basketball team," said Aston, whose Longhorns were 12-18 her first season.

She previously was at North Texas and Charlotte, when the 49ers were in the Atlantic 10.

"Obvioualy, made some mistakes in the second half that really hurt us, transition mistakes, and some defensive assignments. But can't be more proud of a basketball team than I am tonight," Aston said of the game.

"I think that really the second half we got a little wound up and we started shooting too quickly," Aston said. "And they were Maryland. Maryland's really good on the boards and they forced their will on us in the second half.

"But I thought some of it had to do with us not having patience offensively."

While Maryland blunted the Longhorns once again, Texas remains on the way back to national prominence.

A stellar rookie class will arrive in the fall and it could be that the Longhorns could be back in the Associated Press Poll, of where they are one of the all-time programs, as is Maryland, before too long.

That's it from here. The Guru heads back to Philadelphia. He'll be at Rutgers Thursday night for the Women's NIT third-round game with nearby Seton Hall.

More to come along the way from Siroki and possibly others.

-- Mel





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Mike Siroky's Big Ten Report: A Workmanlike Effort in NCAA First Round

By Mike Siroky

First-round NCAA women’s basketball games for the Big Ten Conference showed why the conference is fundamentally, if unspectacularly strong.

Two the traditionally better teams each defended No. 4 seeds. Then again, all five ranked teams won.

Michigan State had the blowout conference win so far. Perhaps making the selection committee rethink a No. 5 seed for a conference co-champ.

Then again, every Top 4 seed won nationally. It is usually thus in the NCAA women’s draw.

Here’s how the opening round shook down:

•No. 3 Penn State 62, No. 14 Wichita State 56: In the first half, it appeared the Nittany Lions were destined to continue their fall from grace. After early elimination in the conference tournament, they fell behind at home at the half, 30-25 with but one basket in the final 2½ minutes.

Ariel Edward scored the first four points of the second half and the game was on.
Penn State built the lead to eight but Wichita State would not go away.

With 1:19 left, Talia East scored to make it 58-54. Edwards fouled Alex Harden and she hit both free throws for a two-point game. Maggie Lucas missed an inopportune 3, hoping for a dagger but giving life to Wichita State.

With 41 seconds left, Penn State had the ball back and East was fouled. She missed the free throw, but Kaliyah Mitchell captured the rebound.

Of such plays does survival rest.

Lucas was fouled and hit both free throws. East grabbed the ball on her ninth defensive rebound and the game was won.

Penn State is 23-7 and ready for Florida.

Lucas, a guard, hit three 3s, had nine rebounds and scored 22. Edwards scored 17 and East 13. Penn State won the rebounds, 46-29.

The comeback began when Penn State found themselves down by 11, the two-time Big Ten Player of the Year Lucas took control, with 22 points in the escape.

"We work on situations like that, being down and staying calm," Lucas said. "We were going to handle that pretty well.

"We figured things would start to go our way."

A 17-0 run to open the second half was the way.

"You just know you have to play through some things," Lucas said. "I just had to keep shooting, play through it. I was able to do that."

Lucas has led the Lady Lions to four straight NCAA tournament appearances, three regular-season Big Ten titles, and she holds the team and conference record for 3-pointers made.

"As long as she's on the floor, she's a threat," coach Coquese Washington said.

"What one of the things that I liked about her was that she did other things. She impacted the game in ways beyond scoring."

Lucas changed the game with a pair of 3s in the first half, then built a double-digit lead with another in the second.

She buried a 3 for a 12-point lead, then flashed three fingers to the crowd of 3,295, which was going wild with every basket. Then she cupped her ears to hear those raucous cheers and chest-bumped her teammates.

"I felt we were in a great position all good game long," Wichita State coach Jody Adams said, including gaining a five-point halftime lead. "We made them take tough shots, they had to take tough looks at the rim, but the one thing that they bette than we did was board the ball."

"We were right there," guard Alex Harden said.

Ariel Edwards scored 17 points for the Lady Lions, and East scored 13 with a game-high 13 rebounds. Penn State outrebounded the Shockers 46-29.

Penn state is 18-5 in tournament home games and will chase No. 19 in the Sweet 16 qualifier against No. 11 Florida.

•No. 4 Nebraska 74, No. 13 Fresno State 55: The B1G’s best kept their conference momentum in Los Angeles feeding into their home Regional.

It started slowly, 8-8 in the first seven minutes and Cornhusker all-American Jordan Hooper not in rhythm. Nebraska had as many turnovers as baskets, three each.

But, by the half, it was a 10-point differential and Hooper had as many points plus seven rebounds. All was back in balance as Nebraska moved to the second round and a 26-6 mark. Dead was Fresno State’s eight-game winning streak and the chance at a first NCAA tournament win. There were 1,941 witnesses.

Hooper finished with 23 points, as four of the five starters hit double figures. Four of the five played 39 minutes. The final nine ’Husker points came at the line. Emily Cady matched her with 11 rebounds.

Nebraska only hit 38 percent from the field, but 17-of-19 from the line.

“We did not play our best basketball,” said Big Ten Coach of the Year Connie Yori. “We were a little rusty.”

Hooper, the coach on the floor said, “We went to our ‘squeeze’ basketball, just put a little squeeze on the dribbler and stuff like that. It really helped. We helped each other out.”

Next at fabled Pauley Pavilion is No. 12 seed Brigham Young (27-6), an easy upset winner of No. 5 North Carolina State.

•No. 4 Purdue 84, No. 13 Akron 55: At home feeding into the Notre Dame Regional the Boilermakers took a 46-34 halftime advantage, propelled by reserve junior forward Whitney Bays’ seven points in seven minutes and seven rebounds as the home team won the backboards at intermission, 29-14. A 20-2 start decided it.

Bays finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Her two 3s tied the career school record, 238.

A 15-8 start of the second half was just more of the same. Bays was in after four minutes. Purdue led by as many as 32. The defense held Akron to 31 percent from the field.

The win is No. 300 in the coaching career of Purdue’s Sharon Versyp, a former Boilermaker All-American and Indiana native. The game attracted 3,342 on a Saturday afternoon.

“We always give our kids a challenge," Versyp said. "They are the ninth-best scoring team in the country, and we wanted to keep them under 60 today and we did that.

"The kids have been hungry and they are tired of practice,” Versyp said. “They wanted to go get somebody else. It’s just really trying to set that tone early."

“We really paid attention (on defense),” said Bays.

“Rebounding is always an emphasis for us. I just tried to crash all the time and I think it helped us in transition.

The Boilermakers (22-8) have senior team captain and spiritual leader K.K. Houser cheering from the bench. She has blown out her knee and cannot really compete anymore.

Two seasons ago, when Purdue was last at home for the playoffs, it was at this point they were eliminated. Oklahoma State (24-8) is the next opponent, on Monday night.

They have not won two straight since January, winning one and then losing the next every time. Purdue is 20-1 in first-round home NCAA games.

These games fed into the Stanford Regional.

•No. 5 Michigan State 91, No. 12 Hampton 61: Like most coaches in this first round, Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant was concerned about the two weeks without a game.

But a freshman and a senior made that worry go away. Rookie Aerial Powers scored 26 – with 18 rebounds -- and senior Annalise Pickrel hit 7-of-7 from the floor for 21 points.

Michigan State (23-9) erased the bad memories of the previous game, elimination in the conference tournament by 28. An early 15-1 run previewed the rest of the game.

"It felt like an eternity since we played," Merchant said. "But we did a great job of keeping our composure and moving the ball."

After holding Hampton to 18 percent from the field in the first half (while hitting 58 percent), State led 54-22 and never led by less than 30 points after that. "We had been preparing for them for a while and knew their offensive sets backward and forward," Pickrel said.

Merchant showed youth can be served.

Powers came in as the only freshman in the nation to total at least 400 points, 200 rebounds and 75 assists this season. In her NCAAA debut, she hit 10-of-18 from the field and led the defense, stifling Hampton's Malia Tate-DeFreitas to 1-o- 15 from the field.

Two other freshmen showed well: Branndais Agee had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Tori Jankoska had 11 points.


"We need some excitement in our game and it's a positive," Merchant said of the freshmen continuing a trend of each class being better than the ones before in women's basketball. "It's a positive and might bring some fans back -- and even attract some new ones."

The star senior led the way.

Pickrel's 21 is a career high. She hit all three 3-pointers and was 4 of 4 from the foul line to cap a perfect shooting day.

Hampton, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions, came had an 18-game winning streak after sweeping eh conference, but still has yet to win an NCAA tournament game. "We weren't ready to go, and I take responsibility for that,"Hampton coach David Six said

•No. 6 Iowa 87, No. 11 Marist 65: At home, the Hawkeyes hit 12 3s and shot 57 percent overall as 5,810 cheered.

Theairra Taylor scored 22 points, Bethany Doolittle 21 and Samantha Logic had 11 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. They stormed away from a 39-30 lead. Iowa's starters outscored their Red Foxes counterparts, 76-47.

This is the Louisville feed-in. The Cardinals, seeded No. 3, are next up in the challenge for the Sweet 16. The Hawkeyes (27-8) have as many wins as anyone in the Big Ten –- the most since 1996 -- and are on eight-game winning streak.

“I thought they relaxed and had fun out there. Enjoyed playing on their home court. Enjoyed executing. We shot the ball well," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "We just had so many weapons."

Iowa took control late in the first half and then hammered it home with a 49-35 second half.

The opposing coach was impressed. "They shot the hell out of the ball, especially in the second half," Marist coach Brian Giorgis said. "If we played on Mars, Iowa would have beaten us the way they shot the ball."

Taylor and Ally Disterhoft buried back-to-back 3s to put the Hawkeyes ahead 53-44, and Doolittle's jumper gave Iowa a 13-point lead with just over 10 minutes left.

Disterhoft then hit a 3 from the corner without a Marist defender in sight with 6:55 left, making it 67-51 and perfectly encapsulating Iowa's perimeter dominance.

"Coach just tells us to keep shooting. (Doolittle) was demanding so much attention, we were wide open," Taylor said.

What made the Marist-Iowa matchup such an intriguing one was that each team boasted eerily similar offensive profiles.

Each starter for the Red Foxes averaged between 10.9 and 13.6 points per game, while the Hawkeyes had five starters with at least 12 points a game.

That led Giorgis to view the Hawkeyes as a "better version" of the Red Foxes because he thought Iowa was a little bigger, a little more physical and from a stronger league.

The Hawkeyes certainly looked the part in their gleaming home whites -- while the red in more than a few of Marist's road jerseys bled into the once-white, screen printed numbers during a recent wash.

But the biggest problem the Red Foxes had in the first half wasn't laundry. It was Logic, Taylor and Doolittle, each of whom had 11 points in 20 minutes.

"Our kids just got frustrated. Our real big kids just couldn't guard Doolittle inside," Giorgis said. "We got beat in transition way too much."

"We have to keep our defensive intensity like that. Louisville is a great team, one of the top teams in the country," Logic said. "We have to play great defense, just really focus on that so we can get our offense going."




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