Women's Basketball ACCtion: Sunday, February 24
Three teams honor seniors, post wins; Georgia Tech wins on the road.
Duke's Wanisha Smith (23) pressures Virginia's Paulisha Kellum in the first half of a college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)

Duke's Wanisha Smith (23) pressures Virginia's Paulisha Kellum in the first half of a college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)

Feb. 24, 2008

Smith Leads Comeback On Senior Day As Duke Tops UVa, 78-70

Chante Black scored 15 of her 22 points in the second half, and Wanisha Smith added 16 points in her final home game to lift No. 12 Duke past Virginia 78-70 on Sunday.

The Blue Devils (21-7, 10-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) wrapped up the No. 3 seed for the conference tournament, beating the Cavaliers for the ninth consecutive time at Cameron Indoor Stadium and the 14th straight game overall.

Duke led 31-30 at halftime before Virginia (20-8, 8-4) started the second half with an 8-0 spurt. The Cavaliers scored on three consecutive possessions to take a 38-31 lead 2 minutes in, and they stretched their lead to 42-33 on a pair of free throws by Lyndra Littles with 16:12 remaining.

But the Blue Devils responded by scoring on eight of 10 possessions. Black made all four of her field-goal attempts, two of which resulted in three-point plays, as Duke cut Virginia's lead to 61-59.

The Cavaliers self-destructed down the stretch, committing turnovers on four consecutive possessions and missing a pair of free throws.

Monica Wright led Virginia with 23 points, and Aisha Mohammed contributed 18 points and 14 rebounds. Paulisha Kellum added 15 points for the Cavaliers, who finished with 22 turnovers against Duke's pressure.

Wake Forest Tames Hurricanes 50-45

Junior Alex Tchangoue led the Wake Forest women's basketball team to a 50-45 win over the Miami Hurricanes with a game-high 18 points at the WFU home-season finale in the Joel Coliseum on Sunday.

Demon Deacon junior Corinne Groves added 12 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the 2007-08 season, while Maurita Reid was the high Miami scorer with 15 points. The Demon Deacons improved to 15-13 for the year and 2-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Miami stands at 9-18 and 2-10.

Wake Forest raced out to a 6-0 lead with an opening basket from Tchangoue and back-to-back jumpers from Groves. Reid was the first Hurricane to penetrate the Demon Deacon defense, landing a layup at the 14:34 mark to put Miami on the board 2-6.

With the help of nine points from Tchangoue, Wake Forest held an 11-point lead with six minutes to play in the half. At the halftime buzzer, the Demon Deacons had a 27-18 edge, despite Miami's 14-2 advantage in the paint.

No. 4 Maryland Earns Thrilling 92-84 Overtime Victory Over Florida State

Maryland bid farewell to its seniors in a ceremony that produced tears from five players who have helped bring the program back to national prominence.

Then the Terrapins had to play a basketball game, and Kristi Toliver scored eight of her 24 points in overtime as No. 4 Maryland rallied to beat Florida State 92-84 on Sunday to finish 19-0 at home.

The Terrapins (28-2, 12-1 ACC) trailed 73-65 with 2:59 left in regulation before storming back to win their sixth straight before 16,135. Maryland committed 23 turnovers and blew an 11-point lead in the second half but made up it with a strong finish.

At the start, however, the Terps simply couldn't turn all their attention toward beating Florida State.

After Marissa Coleman's driving layup with 4.9 seconds remaining forced overtime, the Terrapins fell behind 81-78. Toliver hit a 3-pointer and Crystal Langhorne made a layup to put Maryland up 83-81, and after the Seminoles got within a point, Marah Strickland scored in the lane and Toliver made two free throws to make it 89-84 with 55 seconds to go.

Langhorne, who had her No. 1 hung from the rafters after the game, finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Harper contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Coleman had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Coach Brenda Frese made her first appearance on the sidelines after giving birth to twins on Feb. 17. She didn't coach the first half, but returned after the break to guide the team from an oversized chair at the end of the bench while assistant Daron Park roamed the sidelines.

Mara Freshour led Florida State (16-11, 6-6) with 23 points and Shante Williams scored 14 to become the 21st woman in FSU history to reach the 1,000 mark. But the Seminoles couldn't win despite taking 26 more shots than Maryland, mainly because the Terrapins' upperclassmen carried the day.

Georgia Tech Runs into Record Books with 74-58 Win over Clemson

Jill Ingram finished with a career-high 20 points and Janie Mitchell notched her 16th career double-double to lead the Georgia Tech women's basketball team (20-7, 6-6 ACC) to a 74-58 win over Clemson (10-17, 3-9) Sunday afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum.

With this win, the Yellow Jackets recorded 20 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. Junior Jacqua Williams also set a new school record in steals with 98, breaking her own record of 95 set last season.

Ingram recorded seven rebounds, six assists and five steals for the Jackets. Mitchell added 18 points and 11 boards in the win. As a team, the Jackets hit seven three-pointers and registered 12 steals.

Clemson's Lele Hardy finished with 12 points and 10 boards and Christy Brown scored 17 points.

The Jackets held a 31-21 halftime lead and held the Tigers to only 26.7 percent from the field. Tech also forced Clemson into 10 first half turnovers.