Dec. 31, 2007

Jackets Win Holiday Tournament with 83-68 Win over Kennesaw State

ATLANTA - Janie Mitchell finished with a game-high 24 points to lead Georgia Tech (12-1) to an 83-68 win over in-state rival Kennesaw State (5-7) in the championship game of the Georgia Tech Hotel & Convention Center Holiday Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

Freshman Alex Montgomery was named the tournament's Most Valuable Performer after finishing with a career-high 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Montgomery also registered three blocks and three steals as she continues to develop as an all-around threat for the Jackets.

"I am so proud of the way our team played defensively in this tournament," head coach MaChelle Joseph said. "I thought Alex was outstanding and Janie came up big today on the offensive side of the ball."

No. 5 Maryland Overpowers UMBC, 98-56

• Webcast Archived on ACC Select

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - The Maryland Terrapins started their game against UMBC with an onslaught of 3-pointers. They never stopped.

Marissa Coleman scored 18 points and No. 5 Maryland made an ACC-record 17 3-pointers in a 98-56 win against UMBC in the Terrapin Classic on Sunday.

The Terps, who made 60.7 percent of their 28 3-point attempts, eclipsed the previous ACC-record of 16, set by Wake Forest on Feb. 12, 2006. The old school-record was 12, a mark Maryland equaled in a win earlier this season against Notre Dame.

"I know this team likes to break a lot of records," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "I thought we were really unselfish with our ball movement, being able to get the ball inside, being able to get nice kicks out to our perimeter players, who were obviously ready to knock down a lot of shots."

Fields Leads Wolfpack to Victory Over Western Carolina

• Webcast Archived on ACC Select

RALEIGH, N.C. - Shayla Fields scored a game-high 16 points to lead three NC State players in double figures in a 72-53 victory over Western Carolina Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum.

Khadijah Whittington shook off a knee sprain that limited her to just two first-half minutes to score 15 points and grab nine rebounds in only 20 minutes of work. Chanita Jordan took her place in the post and stepped up big with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Monique Dawson paced Western Carolina (8-4) with 15 points, while Jessika Johnson and Ashley Pellom each tossed in 10 points for the Lady Catamounts.

After already notching wins over Clemson, Middle Tennessee and a nationally ranked Louisville club earlier in the season, NC State (12-3) knew a fourth straight win wouldn't be easy.

No. 4 North Carolina Topples Liberty, 88-67

• Webcast Archived on ACC Select

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - LaToya Pringle scored a career-high 25 points and had 10 rebounds Sunday to lead No. 4 North Carolina past Liberty, 88-67.

North Carolina's All-American Erlana Larkins scored 15 points before leaving the game due to an injured left hand with 17:24 to play. She watched the rest of the game from the bench, with her hand wrapped and iced.

Preliminary examinations show Larkins broke a bone in her left hand, coach Sylvia Hatchell said.

Rashanda McCants added 12 points for North Carolina (13-1). Reserve Italee Lucas chipped in with 11.

Megan Frazee led Liberty (11-2) with 18 points and 15 rebounds before she fouled out with 5:09 left. Triplet sister Molly Frazee had 13 points before fouling out with 1:14 to go.

Second-Half Run Helps Hokies to 72-46 Win Over East Carolina

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Behind 25 points from tournament most valuable player Andrea Barbour, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team won its 10th consecutive Hokie Hardwood Classic championship with a 72-46 win over East Carolina on Sunday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum.

Tech (12-2) earned its 20th consecutive home win in its home holiday tournament and also its 31st straight December home victory. After holding a 30-23 edge over ECU at halftime, Tech took control of the game by opening the second half with an 8-2 run to give build a 38-25 margin that would only grow.

"We always talk about that any time we're in a tournament, we can win it," head coach Beth Dunkenberger said. "It was nice to step up and win one soundly today."

Miami Offense Erupts in Win Over Central Arkansas

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The University of Miami women's basketball team (6-8) dominated play in a 90-57 lopsided win over Central Arkansas (2-11) at the BankUnited Center, in the consolation game of the UM Holiday Tournament.

From the start of the game, the Hurricanes never took their foot off the accelerator. Coach Katie Meier had her squad come out in a frantic full-court press, leaving the Sugar Bears of Central Arkansas out of sync.

More impressively for Miami was their ability to score at will. It came early, often and from many sources. The `Canes shot a blistering 57 percent from the field, on their way to 47 first-half points. Maurita Reid led the way with 18 points at the break, including four three-point field goals.

Deacons Race Past Longwood, 57-26

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's basketball team shut the door on 2007 in style, with a 57-26 win over the Longwood Lancers at the Joel Coliseum on Sunday.

With the win, Wake Forest improves to 12-2 and will enter Atlantic Coast Conference play with a three-game winning streak. The loss set the Lancers back to 6-8 for the season.

If you had to sum up Wake's non-conference season with two words, they would probably be Scoring Defense, with Sunday's win marking the lowest opponent score yielded in 2007. Wake Forest leads the league in the category, limiting opponents to an average of just under 49 points per game.

The game was a Wake Forest WBB record in the Joel Coliseum for opponent points yielded, the closest mark coming in 2005 when Morgan State only picked up 33 points. The Lancers' 26 points was the third lowest opponent mark in Wake Forest program history, the other two lowest totals occurring in 1971 and 1972.

Florida State Caps Off FIU Fun & Sun Classic With 72-54 Win Over Hofstra

MIAMI, Fla. - With a Sweet 16 rematch against No. 8 LSU looming in the horizon, and coming off a tough loss to No. 7 Georgia, it wouldn't have been out of the question for the Florida State women's basketball team to overlook its consolation game of the FIU Fun & Sun Classic with Hofstra. Instead, the Seminoles took care of business and beat the Pride, 72-54, on Sunday (December 30).

Florida State reached double digit wins before New Year's for just the third time in school history as they improved to 10-4 on the year. Hofsta dropped 2-9.

"Obviously it was an emotional loss for us last night, but we looked at the whole thing coming together as an opportunity for us to prepare for the ACC Tournament," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "We had the opportunity to win last night and going in, what was it going to feel like playing three games in four days in the championship game. I really felt they met the challenge. We're not where we want to be in March, but we stepped up and got better today."