No. 1 Maryland Tops Arizona in BTI Classic

Terrapins Will Meet George Washington Today

For the second consecutive game, the top-ranked Maryland Terrapins were outscored in the second half but still won comfortably.

Ashleigh Newman scored 17 points to lead Maryland to a 75-61 victory over Arizona yesterday at Comcast Center. Laura Harper added 14 points for the Terrapins (4-0), who had four players score in double figures. Maryland will play George Washington today in the finale of the BTI Classic.

Joy Hollingsworth led Arizona (1-2) with 22 points -- 14 in the second half.

Crystal Langhorne continued her efficient start to the season, making 5 of 6 shots to finish with 11 points and extend her double-figure scoring streak to 28 games. She has missed just five field-goal attempts in four games and is shooting 81 percent for the Terrapins.

Maryland's defense effectively put the game out of reach early. After making their first basket, the Wildcats missed their next nine shots and made only two field goals in the first 10 minutes 26 seconds. By that point, Maryland led 31-5.

"We put ourselves in a hole early," Arizona Coach Joan Bonvicini said. "They took advantage of every opportunity."

The Terrapins maintained at least a 20-point lead until Kelsey Burns hit a three-pointer with 4:15 left in the half to pull Arizona to 42-23. After a quick timeout by Coach Brenda Frese, the Terrapins went back up by 21 on a pair of free throws by Laura Harper.

Arizona trailed 48-28 at halftime but outscored Maryland 33-27 in the second half, shooting 51.9 percent. On Friday, Maryland suffered a similar lapse against TCU. The Terrapins won 82-64 despite being outscored 36-31 after halftime.

"Being able to hit that knockout punch early, I'm excited about our starts," Frese said. "Now I'm focused on our finishes."

· GEORGE WASHINGTON 82, TEXAS CHRISTIAN 77: The Colonials staged a second-half rally to win at the BTI Classic at Comcast Center.

Five Colonials reached double figures, led by junior Sarah-Jo Lawrence's 20 points. Kimberly Beck tied a career high with four three-pointers and finished with 18 points and a game-high eight assists. Senior Kenan Cole added 13 points and sophomore Jessica Adair chipped in 10 points. Sophomore Chantelle John shook off a second-half injury to match a career high with 11 points and pull down a career-best seven rebounds.

· VIRGINIA TECH 66, DELAWARE STATE 50: The Hokies used an 18-3 second-half run to pull away from the pesky Hornets at Cassell Coliseum.

The first half was a seesaw affair that featured six ties and five lead changes, with neither team leading by more than five. The Hokies shot 60 percent in the half (15 of 25) and outrebounded the Hornets, 20-10. The Hornets shot just 38.7 percent, making 12 of 31.

The Hornets (1-1) forced 11 turnovers and parlayed those into a 13-4 advantage in points off of turnovers. The Hokies (3-2) led 32-29 at intermission.

"I thought we did a pretty good job crashing the boards, but we need to do a little bit better job locking down the defensive boards," Hokies Coach Beth Dunkenberger said. "Bonehead turnovers have got to go, though."

· GEORGETOWN 79, EASTERN KEN TUCKY 77: The Hoyas erased a nine-point halftime lead and freshman guard Shanice Fuller scored a game-winning layup with 4.1 seconds remaining in the consolation game of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic in Honolulu. The Hoyas improved to 1-2, while EKU fell to 1-2.

The Hoyas' Kieraah Marlow had a game-high 20 points and junior Kristin Heidloff had 16.

· NAVY 77, HOWARD 76: Kate Hobbs and Whitney Davidson combined to score 31 of the Midshipmen's 46 second-half points in South Orange, N.J. The victory in the consolation game of the Seton Hall Basketball Classic was the first for the Midshipmen (1-3), while the Lady Bison fell to 0-5.

Hobbs finished with 27 points and Davidson had 18.

Navy's defense held Howard without a field goal for nearly eight minutes in the first half, but the Lady Bison stayed in the game by making 13 of 15 free throws during the opening 20 minutes of play.