A Final Destination

Terps Win Physical Matchup, Earn First Trip to Title Game: Maryland 81, North Carolina 70

BOSTON, April 2 -- With no seniors in its starting lineup, the Maryland women's basketball team was thought by most observers to be a year away from seriously contending nationally. But after beating top-seeded North Carolina in a rugged and often ragged confrontation Sunday, the Terrapins will be right where they expected to be Tuesday night: playing for the program's first NCAA championship.

With a youthful exuberance that belies their lack of experience, the Terrapins traded fouls and turnovers with the Tar Heels and emerged with an 81-70 victory at TD Banknorth Garden. Second-seeded Maryland, the only team to beat North Carolina this season, made its third trip to the Final Four, and first since 1989, its most successful. In Tuesday's final, the Terrapins (33-4) will face Duke, which beat LSU, 64-45, in the other semifinal.

"All season long this team has played with a chip on their shoulder," Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said. "I really felt like they have had to fight for respect every step of the way. I'll tell you they got a lot of believers after tonight."

Much like the teams' previous two meetings, this game was not for the faint-hearted. Ivory Latta had to be carried off the court after injuring her knee in the first half. Marissa Coleman laid out Alex Miller with a hard screen. Maryland didn't so much win this game as survive it.

"It was very physical," Crystal Langhorne said. "It was one of the most physical games I've played in my life."

As would be expected in such a game, the outcome was determined under the basket. Maryland had reached the Final Four on the strength of its front court, mainly Langhorne. But on this night, she didn't have to do it all herself. Sophomore Laura Harper, reemerging as the force she was a year ago before rupturing her Achilles' tendon, scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting to lead four players in double figures for Maryland. Langhorne finished with 23 points.

"I like to complement Lang as best I can," Harper said. "I knew my team needed me."

North Carolina (33-2) was running in circles trying to stop Harper and Langhorne, the main reasons the Terrapins outscored the Tar Heels, 50-38, in the lane. In the first half, the pair combined for 26 points. The Terrapins' high-low offense was working so well they rarely tried to score from the perimeter. Maryland didn't make a three-point basket until Kristi Toliver's with just more than eight minutes remaining in the game.

Erlana Larkins was equally effective inside for North Carolina, but she received no help. Larkins had 28 points and 10 rebounds. Camille Little, who scored 24 points in the teams' first meeting in February, was not a factor Sunday. Little finished with eight points on 3-of-10 shooting. Latta, the catalyst throughout North Carolina's tournament run, was the only Tar Heel to score in double figures other than Larkins, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting.

This was remarkably similar to the teams' first meeting, fast and furious with lots of fouls and turnovers. In that game, the two teams combined for 50 fouls, 55 free throws and 46 turnovers. In this game, there were 45 fouls, 56 free throws and 43 turnovers. Maryland, which made its first seven shots, turned over the ball eight times during that span. The Terrapins finished with 26 turnovers, 12 by their freshman point guard Toliver. North Carolina's top three players -- Larkins, Latta and Little -- fouled out of the game.

Most of North Carolina's first-half scoring came from put-backs of missed shots. The Tar Heels grabbed 11 offensive rebounds and turned them into 11 points. Larkins was particularly effective in this area and had 14 points at the half. Maryland, however, did a nice job of shutting down North Carolina's perimeter scoring. The Tar Heels missed 10 of their first 11 shots from beyond the arc and finished 4 of 23 from three-point range.

The Terrapins, led by Coleman's 14, outrebounded North Carolina, 41-31.

"We just kind of buckled down and said we have to rebound in order to win this game," Harper said.

Maryland took its biggest lead to that point, 65-54, with 7 minutes 10 seconds remaining. But before the Terrapins could close out the victory, the Tar Heels came roaring back. Maryland did not make a field goal for more than four minutes as North Carolina went on a 9-2 run to close within 67-63. After North Carolina cut the Terrapins' lead to 70-68 with more than two minutes to play, Shay Doron made 1 of 2 free throws and then a jumper in the lane to put Maryland up by five.

From there, the Terrapins made six free throws in the final 30 seconds to earn their first trip to a national championship game, just as they expected.