St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
22-8
Maryland (NCAA Tournament)
30-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 34 | 40 | 74 |
| Maryland | 35 | 46 | 81 |
Terps Edge Red Storm 81-74
3/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 21, 2006
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Crystal Langhorne and Maryland couldn't shake St. John's until the final minutes of the game.
Langhorne capped a 30-point effort with two late inside baskets and St. John's went cold from the field as the second-seeded Terps defeated No. 7 seed St John's 81-74 on Tuesday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The Terps (30-4) advanced to the regional semifinals after losing in the second round the previous two seasons thanks in large part to Langhorne, who also had nine rebounds. Maryland will play defending champion Baylor in the Albuquerque Regional.
But the win didn't come easy.
Dominated in the post, St. John's (22-8) stayed step-for-step with Maryland behind quick guard Kia Wright's great play and outside shooting by Tara Walker and Greeba Barlow.
They also took advantage of sloppy play by the Terps, who committed 14 of their 20 turnovers in the first half. The team looked disjointed at times early with teammates exchanging looks of frustration after failing to connect on plays.
This exchange was typical of the game: Up 65-64 with 6:52 left, Maryland's Marissa Coleman threw away a pass in the paint intended for Langhorne. Wright came down and connected with Tiina Sten for a turnaround jumper to put St. John's ahead.
Wright finished with 23 points and nine assists, while Walker had 17 and Barlow 16.
The teams then traded leads or stayed within a point or two of each other. Kristi Toliver, who was cold from outside for most the game, hit a 16-footer; Walker followed with a 3-pointer over a defender to give the Red Storm back the lead.
Ashleigh Newman then hit a 3, then Barlow responded by sinking one of two free throws to tie the game at 72-72 with just over 3 minutes left.
Maryland took over from there. Toliver connected with Langhorne for a layup inside. Then Langhorne converted an offensive rebound to give the Terps a 76-72 lead.
Shay Doron then hit two free throws. St. John's couldn't hit another field goal, getting their final points on two foul shots by Wright, and Maryland put the game away with three more free throws over the last 8 seconds.
Laura Harper finished with 15 points and while Coleman had 11 for the Terps.
Despite the loss, it's been a great year at resurgent St. John's, which was 3-24 three seasons ago. The Red Storm have improved steadily since then, and their first-round win on Sunday over California was the schoo's first NCAA victory since 1988.
The Terps have had just as a dramatic improvement under Coach Brenda Frese, who was 10-18 in her first season as coach in 2002-03. Now the Terps have surpassed their best win total since 1988-89, when they went to the Final Four.
