Rebels trap, shock defending champs

By: Associated Press - | Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11:20 PM PDT ∞

Maryland fell into Mississippi's trap and the defending NCAA champion never got out.

Ole Miss (23-10) used its stifling defense to steal the ball 15 times and scored 42 points off 29 Maryland turnovers and the Rebels upset the No. 2 seed Terrapins 89-78 in the Dayton Regional on Tuesday night in Hartford, Conn.

"I think the game is really simple," Mississippi coach Carol Ross said. "You guard hard, you create ball plays, you let ball players make ball plays. You put them into position to do that."

Maryland (28-6) was expected to have a good chance at repeating as national champions with all five starters returning. The Terps added depth with transfer Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, but it wasn't enough to stop them from a disappointing second round loss.

"A season ago, we loved the fact that we had youth," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "I think it really hurt us tonight and spiraled in terms of our frustration, and Ole Miss fed off of it."

Armintie Price scored 28 points to lead the Rebels, the same Ole Miss team that was blown out by the Terps 110-79 at a tournament in the Bahamas in November.

Mississippi will play No. 3 Oklahoma in the Dayton Regional semifinals.

Tennessee 68, Pittsburgh 54

At Pittsburgh: Candace Parker wore out persistent Pittsburgh at both ends of the court with 30 points, 12 rebounds to carry top-seeded Tennessee (30-3) past eighth-seeded Pittsburgh (24-9) and into the NCAA round of 16 for a 26th consecutive season. The Lady Vols next face Marist.

GREENSBORO REGIONAL

Rutgers 70, Michigan State 57

At East Lansing, Mich.: Kia Vaughn had 12 of her 16 points in the first half to help fourth-seeded Rutgers (24-8) beat fifth-seeded Michigan State 70-57 on its home court in the second round. The Scarlet Knights (24-8) play top-seeded Duke on Saturday.

Duke 62, Temple 52

At Raleigh, N.C.: Lindsey Harding had 13 of her 18 points in the first half and top-seeded Duke (32-1) beat pesky eighth-seeded Temple (25-8) in the second round.

Bowling Green 59, Vanderbilt 56

At East Lansing, Mich.: Seventh-seed Bowling Green moved into the NCAA tournament's round of 16 for the first time, holding off a furious rally to edge No. 2 seed Vanderbilt (28-6) in the second round. The Falcons (31-3) will face third-seeded Arizona State on Saturday.

FRESNO REGIONAL

N.C. State 78, Baylor 72

At Raleigh, N.C.: Khadijah Whittington scored 15 of her career-high 23 points after halftime, while Shayla Fields knocked down a key 3-pointer in the final minute of overtime to lead fourth-seeded North Carolina State (25-9) past fifth-seeded Baylor (26-8). The Wolfpack will face top-seeded Connecticut in the regional semifinals.

UConn 94, Wisconsin-Green Bay 70

At Hartford, Conn.: Freshman Tina Charles led five UConn players in double figures with 22 points and top-seed Connecticut (31-3) beat ninth-seeded Wisconsin-Green Bay (29-4).

DALLAS REGIONAL

North Carolina 60, Notre Dame 51

At Pittsburgh: LaToya Pringle led a frantic late run and Ivory Latta made six free throws in the final minute as top-seeded North Carolina (32-3) avoided the upset and rallied to defeat Notre Dame (20-12). The Tar Heels trailed 38-31 with 13.5 minutes remaining.