Women's Basketball ACCtion: Sunday, March 1
Maryland and Florida State share regular season title with victories on final day.
Marissa Coleman's double-double helped Maryland beat Miami and earn a share of the ACC regular season title.

Marissa Coleman's double-double helped Maryland beat Miami and earn a share of the ACC regular season title.

March 1, 2009

Maryland Wins ACC Title for First Time in 20 Years, Routs Miami in Reg. Season Finale
The fifth-ranked University of Maryland women's basketball team won its first Atlantic Coast Conference title in 20 years on Sunday with its 89-64 victory over Miami in the regular-season finale at UnitedBank Center. The Terrapins, winners of nine straight, locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

Maryland (25-4, 12-2 ACC) never trailed and held as much as a 32-point lead in a game that was never in question after the opening tip. Eight out of nine Terrapins on the roster scored at least six points, paced by 17-point performances by senior Marissa Coleman and sophomore Marah Strickland. Coleman added a career-high 16 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.

Terrapin freshman center Lynetta Kizer tied for the team's double-double lead with her eighth of the season, recording 10 points and 10 rebounds. In all, five Terps reached double-digits in points. Point guard Kristi Toliver netted 11 points with six assists and four rebounds.

Making History! FSU Earns First Ever Regular-Season Title With 58-47 Win at Wake Forest
There's a first time for everything and Sunday afternoon at Wake Forest, the No. 11 Florida State women's basketball team earned the first ever Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in school history by defeating the Demon Deacons 58-47.

The Seminoles (24-6, 12-2 ACC), who will share the right to be called regular-season champions with No. 5 Maryland, also accomplished another program first. By defeating Wake Forest (18-10, 5-9), FSU finished undefeated on the road this season with a staggering mark of 10-0 in opponents' home gyms.

The victory also ties head coach Sue Semrau's career high for wins in a season with 24.

Blue Devils Edge Tar Heels In Overtime 81-79
Jasmine Thomas scored 19 points and Abby Waner hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 45.8 seconds remaining in overtime to lead No. 10 Duke past No. 9 North Carolina 81-79 on Sunday night.

Karima Christmas had 18 points, Carrem Gay added 15 points and 12 rebounds and Bridgette Mitchell finished with 13 points for the Blue Devils (24-4, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a four-game losing streak to their most hated rivals in dramatic fashion, won for the fifth time in six games and clinched the No. 3 seed in this week's ACC tournament.

Rashanda McCants had 24 points to lead the Tar Heels (25-5, 10-4). They shot 45 percent but slipped to the No. 4 seed in the league tournament because they couldn't overcome 33 turnovers.

Georgia Tech Victorious Over Virginia, 74-66
Iasia Hemingway scored 17 points and Alex Montgomery had 16 in Georgia Tech's 74-66 victory over No. 22 Virginia on Sunday.

The Yellow Jackets (21-8, 8-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) closed the regular season with three straight wins and clinched the fifth seed in next week's ACC tournament at Greensboro, N.C.

Ending a three-game winning streak, Virginia (22-8, 8-6) will play as the ACC's sixth seed. Lyndra Littles led the Cavaliers with 21 points. Monica Wright had 18.

Boston College Completes Regular Season with Victory
The Boston College women's basketball team (19-10, 7-7 ACC) completed its regular season on a high note at home, topping NC State (13-16, 5-9) Sunday afternoon by a score of 58-52.

The Eagles were led by sophomores Carolyn Swords and Stefanie Murphy and junior Mickel Picco. The three top-performers scored 43 of the team's 58 points. Picco was a perfect 4-4 from three-point range, scoring a total 14 points. Murphy shot 6-12 from the field for a team-high 15 points. She also added eight rebounds. Swords made five of her seven shots for 14 points and led the team with nine rebounds.

Defense ruled the first half for both teams as the Eagles went into the locker room with a 28-25 halftime advantage. Leading the way for BC were Murphy and Swords, who combined for a total of 16 points with a 7-10 shooting effort. Swords also brought down six rebounds and Murphy added five boards. BC saw their largest lead of eight points at 15:34. NC State battled back to gain z one point advantage at 9:04. The score flip-flopped the rest of the half. In all, there were a total of five lead changes and four tie scores.