March 22, 2009

Maryland Downs Dartmouth, 82-53, in Opening Round of NCAAs

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Kristi Toliver felt like she couldn't miss, and her Maryland teammates were more than happy to make sure the senior guard had every opportunity to play out the hunch.

Toliver scored 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting, and the third-ranked Terrapins opened the NCAA tournament by cruising past Dartmouth 82-53 Sunday.

At halftime, Toliver had 23 points -- and so did Dartmouth.

"It's tournament time. It's time to play your best," she said. "I was definitely feeling it."

Realizing that Toliver was in the zone, her teammates simply passed her the ball and got out of the way.

Top-seeded Maryland (29-4) will next face Utah in the second round of the Raleigh Regional. The Utes advanced with a 60-30 rout of Villanova.

Duke Rolls Past Austin Peay 83-42 In NCAA Opener

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Joanne P. McCallie was welcomed warmly by former neighbors when she arrived at Duke's hotel. The reception in Michigan State's arena Sunday was different. When McCallie was introduced before her top-seeded Blue Devils played Austin Peay, boos easily outnumbered cheers.

Fans of the school McCallie left behind didn't have much to jeer the rest of the afternoon because Duke was dominant in an 83-42 win over the Lady Govs in the first round. Now, Duke (27-5) will play the ninth-seeded Spartans (21-10) Tuesday night on their home court.

The Blue Devils took command for good against Austin Peay with an 11-0 run, giving them a 23-6 lead midway through the first half. They scored nine of the last 11 points in the first half to take a 40-19 lead.

After the Blue Devils scored the first four points of the second half, Daniels called timeout even though she couldn't have had any solutions to slow down the other team on the court.

Joy Cheek scored 12 for the Blue Devils and Krystal Thomas scored 10, helping their bench outscore Austin Peay's 38-13.

Georgia Tech Defeats Iowa, 76-62

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Georgia Tech's quickness and athleticism was more than enough to overcome Iowa's home-court advantage.

Jacqua Williams scored 23 points and 6-foot-5 freshman Sasha Goodlett came up big in her NCAA tournament debut with 16 points and 13 rebounds, leading Georgia Tech to a 76-62 first-round victory over Iowa on Sunday night.

The ninth-seeded Yellow Jackets (22-9) harassed the Hawkeyes with their all-out defensive pressure, consistently beat them to rebounds and moved on to a second-round game Tuesday night against top-seeded Oklahoma, a 76-47 winner over Prairie View.

Leading 36-35 early in the second half, Tech hit the Hawkeyes with a 14-2 run and was in control the rest of the way.

The Yellow Jackets advanced despite playing without leading scorer and rebounder Alex Montgomery, who was left at home with a knee injury. However, she might be available if Tech makes it to the Oklahoma City Regional next weekend.