Associated Press
Monday, March 24, 2008; E10
North Carolina couldn't be accused of looking past Bucknell -- at least not for the first 7 1/2 minutes of yesterday's matchup between the No. 1 and No. 16 seeds.
Beginning their pursuit of a third straight trip to the Final Four, the Tar Heels (31-2) opened the game with a 21-2 run then sloppily coasted to an 85-50 victory in Norfolk.
LaToya Pringle had 19 points, and Erlana Larkins and Rashanda McCants had 15 each as the Tar Heels -- a No. 1 seed for the fourth year in a row -- won their 14th straight. They will play Georgia in the second round tomorrow night.
The Bison (16-16), making only their second appearance in the tournament, missed 15 of their first 16 shots, trailed 48-25 at halftime and never got any closer, even with North Carolina Coach Sylvia Hatchell substituting liberally in the second half.
Lauren Schober led the Bison with 13 points.
¿ GEORGIA 67, IOWA 61: Tasha Humphrey made a go-ahead turnaround jumper with 58 seconds left and Ashley Houts hit eight free throws in the final 41 seconds as the Lady Bulldogs outlasted the Hawkeyes in Norfolk.
Eighth-seeded Georgia (23-9) will seek its sixth consecutive trip to the region semifinals when it plays the region's top seed, North Carolina, tomorrow. Georgia brings a 5-0 career mark against the Tar Heels into the second round.
Angel Robinson led the Lady Bulldogs with 17 points, and Houts and Megan Darrah each scored 13. Humphrey finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Kristi Smith led ninth-seeded Iowa (21-11) with 17 points and Wendy Ausdemore added 16.
Iowa led 31-25 at halftime, but Georgia opened the half on an 11-3 run to go ahead 36-34 with 14 minutes 8 seconds to play. The Bulldogs didn't again lead by more than three until the final minute.
¿ KANSAS ST. 69, CHATTANOOGA 59: Kansas State found a replacement for injured star Kimberly Dietz in Kelsey Nelson and ended the nation's longest winning streak.
The little-used reserve scored a career-high 20 points to help the fifth-seeded Wildcats snap the No. 12 Lady Mocs' 24-game streak in Bridgeport, Conn.
Shalee Lehning added 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists for Kansas State (22-9), which will play Louisville tomorrow.
Laura Hall scored 19 points and Brooke Hand added 15, hitting five three-pointers for Chattanooga (29-4).
The Lady Mocs last lost Dec. 1 to Alabama A&M. Chattanooga's only other losses this season were to Tennessee and Louisville.
Trailing 37-31 early in the second half, Kansas State went on a 14-4 run. Nelson scored seven straight points during the spurt to give the Wildcats a 45-41 lead with 9:17 left.
The junior guard easily surpassed her career highs in points (five), and minutes (13).
¿ LOUISVILLE 81, MIAMI (OHIO) 67: Angel McCoughtry finally came up big in the NCAA tournament.
McCoughtry scored 20 points, as the fourth-seeded Cardinals beat the RedHawks in Bridgeport, Conn.
McCoughtry, the Big East's leading scorer at almost 24 points per game, came in averaging just 13 points in three NCAA tournament contests. She had 14 at halftime in this one.
Chauntise Wright led Louisville (25-9) with 21 points. Amanda Jackson led 13-seeded Miami (23-11) with 22 points, 16 in the second half.
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