Maryland Takes Out Anger on Ga. Tech

Langhorne Scores 18 As Terrapins Advance To Play Tar Heels

GREENSBORO, N.C., March 2 -- Georgia Tech was the only team not ranked in the top 25 to defeat sixth-ranked Maryland this season. No loss grated on the Terrapins more -- which is why they eagerly anticipated this rematch in the ACC tournament quarterfinals.

Fueled by a desire for revenge, third-seeded Maryland was merciless in its 75-59 victory over the sixth-seeded Yellow Jackets on Friday night at Greensboro Coliseum. The Terrapins shot 59.2 percent from the field while holding Georgia Tech to 32.8 percent shooting and grabbed more than twice as many rebounds.

"I've never been so angry in college as after we lost to Georgia Tech," said Crystal Langhorne of Maryland's 77-72 defeat back on Feb. 1. "I know as a team we were so excited that we were able to play them, and we knew we were going to come out with a lot of energy."

Now Maryland (27-4), which is trying to win its first ACC tournament since 1989, has the opportunity to seek vengeance against one of the other two teams to beat the Terrapins this season. Second-seeded North Carolina, which beat Maryland in last year's tournament final, advanced to the semifinals with a 90-60 victory over Virginia Tech.

Langhorne, who seems to raise her level of play in big games, scored 18 points and came up one rebound short of a double-double. Marissa Coleman recorded her third consecutive double-double and fourth in the last five games with a 16 points and 11 rebounds.

As would be expected from a grudge match, this game was physical, and the rough-and-tumble nature kept the athletic trainers busy. Early in the first half, one play set the tone. Coleman and Georgia Tech's Stephanie Higgs became tangled up going for a loose rebound. Neither was willing to concede so they both went down hard to the court, grasping tightly to the ball. From then on, nothing came easy. Several players suffered bumps, bruises and cuts during the game, but none fared worse than Georgia Tech's Chioma Nnamaka. She was taken off the court on a stretcher after reportedly suffering from dehydration. Her status was not known.

"We knew coming into this game it was going to be extremely physical," Coleman said. "It was the first time we played them. But the first time we played them, they out-hustled us and out-muscled us. We knew we were a better team that. We just wanted to play with a lot of heart and make sure we get all the loose balls."

Maryland never trailed, but Georgia Tech kept the game close early. Higgs, who finished with 16 points, sank a three to pull the Yellow Jackets to 27-24. But the Yellow Jackets soon ran into foul trouble. Janie Mitchell, the team's second-leading scorer and top rebounder, picked up her third foul -- the seventh team foul -- with 9 minutes 25 seconds left in the first half. Mitchell had only one more foul the rest of the game, but was limited to 22 minutes. She finished with 14 points and five rebounds. The Terrapins held Georgia Tech to just one field goal over the final seven minutes as they closed out the half on a 13-2 run to take a 40-26 lead into halftime.

One area Maryland will need to address before its game against North Carolina is turnovers. The Terrapins turned the ball over 23 times against Georgia Tech, leading to 17 points for the Yellow Jackets. Fortunately for Maryland, it didn't suffer for its sloppiness.

"It was a nice statement game," Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said. "Now we have to follow it up. This is where you find true competitors."

· DUKE 79, VIRGINIA 58: Abby and Emily Waner combined for eight three-point baskets -- seven before halftime -- to lift the top-seeded Blue Devils (30-0), who recorded their NCAA-record seventh consecutive 30-win season. Duke advances to the semifinals to play fourth-seeded North Carolina State. This is the fourth time in the last six years that Virginia (17-14) has been eliminated from the tournament by the No. 1 seed. ACC rookie of the year Monica Wright led the Cavaliers with 18 points, and Siedah Williams finished with 12 points to reach 1,000 points for her career.

Virginia's mercurial forward Lyndra Littles, who lost her starting spot in Thursday's game because of academic reasons, started against Duke but was largely ineffective. One day after scoring 32 points and tying the tournament's single-game record with 12 made field goals, Littles went 2 of 14 to finish with seven points. Her first basket didn't come until less than two minutes remained in the first half.

· NORTH CAROLINA 90, VIRGINIA TECH 60: The defending tournament champions had little trouble moving on to the semifinals. The second-seeded Tar Heels made as many three-point baskets (eight) as the Hokies had field goals before halftime. Camille Little scored 20 points and had seven steals for North Carolina (28-3). Nare Diawara had 17 points to lead Virginia Tech (18-14).

· N.C. STATE 76, FLORIDA STATE 49: Gillian Goring scored 22 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to lead the Wolfpack.