Nov. 17, 2007

No. 3 Maryland Wins Showdown With No. 23 Notre Dame

• Webcast on ACC Select

With Laura Harper and Kristi Toliver leading the way, No. 3 Maryland used a dazzling display of inside-outside basketball to advance to the championship game of the Preseason WNIT.

Harper had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Toliver made five of the Terrapins' school record-tying 12 3-pointers and Maryland posted a 75-59 victory over Notre Dame (No. 25 ESPN/USA Today, No. 23 AP) on Friday night.

Maryland (4-0) will play fourth-ranked LSU on Sunday for the title.

Toliver scored 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting, had seven assists and also grabbed a two rebounds.

Playing without standout center Crystal Langhorne, who's out with a sprained ankle, the Terrapins spread out Notre Dame's defense with a barrage of shots from the outside. Toliver went 5-for-7, Marissa Coleman made 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and freshman Marah Strickland was 2-for-4.

Harper, meanwhile, made up for Strickland's absence with her 12th career double-double, and Coleman and Jade Perry each had eight rebounds to help Maryland control the boards, 46-35.

No. 7 UNC Routs Coppin State, 92-63

• Webcast on ACC Select

North Carolina senior point guard Alex Miller knew she was seriously injured when team trainers carefully turned her over on the court.

"The doctors haven't said anything official yet, but she may be lost for the season," coach Sylvia Hatchell said shortly after Miller was taken from the training room at Carmichael Auditorium to UNC Hospitals for further examination.

Miller was the most experienced guard available in North Carolina's preseason plans to replace all-ACC guard Ivory Latta.

North Carolina (4-0) outshot the Eagles and had a 25-17 advantage in turnovers, but got outrebounded 20-17 in the first half. Much of Hatchell's halftime talk consisted of her just reading the stat sheet to her Tar Heels.

All of North Carolina's double-digit scoring came from players 6-foot-1 or taller.

Pringle added 15 and Rashanda McCants 13 points for North Carolina (4-0) in the Women's National Invitational championship. Breland, who wears braces, left the game late in the second half after cutting the inside of her mouth.

#18 Seminole Women's Basketball Drops First Contest of the Year 79-68 to #24 DePaul

For 37 minutes, the 18th-ranked Florida State women's basketball team played great against No. 24 DePaul on its home court. Unfortunately, it was those other three minutes that did the Seminoles in. The Blue Demons used an early second-half run to beat the Seminoles 79-68 on Friday (November 17) at McGrath Arena.

Florida State suffered its first loss of the season as it fell to 2-1. The Blue Demons won the DePaul Invitational title and improved to 3-0. DU beat Florida International on Thursday night in the first game of the tournament.

Scoring a season-high 14 points was guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) to lead the Seminoles. The junior hit a career-high 7-of-7 from the free throw line and only needs to drill four of her next eight to take over the school record for free throw percentage. She is currently at 81.5 percent (75-of-92), but is eight attempts short of the 100-attempt minimum.