Pringle Leads Unc’s Rally
North Carolina’s Martina Wood (34) celebrates with Laura Barry (4) and Alex Miller (11) near the end of a semifinal in the New Orleans regional of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament on Saturday. The top-seeded Tar Heels rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat Louisville 78-74.
AP photo
NEW ORLEANS — An early onslaught by Louisville star Angel McCoughtry was not enough to derail North Carolina’s bid for a third-straight trip to the Final Four.
LaToya Pringle had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and the top-seeded Tar Heels climbed out of an 18-point hole in a 78-74 victory over the fourth-seeded Cardinals on Saturday.
The victory extended the Tar Heels’ winning streak to 16 and placed them in the regional final on Monday night, when they’ll play LSU, which beat Oklahoma State 67-52.
McCoughtry finished with 35 points and 13 rebounds, but was unable to dominate in the second half as she had in the first, when she scored 21 of her points.
Cetera DeGraffenreid scored 13 for North Carolina (33-2). Rashanda McCants added 12 points and Jessica Breland 11.
Candyce Bingham had 17 points and 20 rebounds for Louisville (26-10). Chauntise Wright scored 13 for the Cardinals.
New Orleans Regional
LSU 67, Oklahoma State 52
NEW ORLEANS — Erica White scored 18 points to lead four LSU players in double figures, and the second-seeded Lady Tigers cruised to a victory over the third-seeded Cowgirls in the regional semifinals.
Rashonta LeBlanc had 11 of her 13 points in the second half for LSU (30-5), while Sylvia Fowles had 12 points and Quianna Chaney 10 for the Lady Tigers, seeking to advance to a fifth straight Final Four.
Andrea Riley scored 26 points for Oklahoma State (27-8), but when she finally began to get some help from her teammates, it was too late.
Spokane Regional
Maryland 80, Vanderbilt 66
SPOKANE, Wash. — After lackluster efforts in the first two rounds, Maryland finally looked like a No. 1-seed.
Crystal Langhorne scored 28 points and Maryland’s defense swarmed Vanderbilt in a convincing win in the Spokane Regional semifinals.
Two years removed from their national title, the Terrapins are one win away from a return to the Final Four.
And while Maryland’s offense was again a model of efficiency — shooting 51 percent and getting 14 assists on 29 baskets — it was a concerted effort at the defensive end that finally made the Terrapins look like championship contenders.
