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Terrapins eliminate defending champs

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Maryland's national player of the year candidate got the best of Baylor and its big star.

Crystal Langhorne matched a career-high with 34 points and added 15 rebounds, leading No.2 seed Maryland to a 82-63 win over the No.3 Bears on Saturday night to eliminate Sophia Young and the defending national champions from the NCAA Tournament.

The Terrapins (31-4) meet the winner of Saturday's Utah-Boston College late game in Monday's Albuquerque Region final.

Maryland, under fourth-year coach Brenda Frese, is one game from the program's first Final Four since 1989. The Terps were in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1992.

Marissa Coleman added 15 points and Kristi Toliver scored 12 for the Terps, who start a junior, two sophomores and two freshmen.

Langhorne, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, outdueled Young from the opening tip and the Bears (26-7) had one of their worst shooting nights of the season at 33 percent (25-of-74).

Young scored 26 points on 11-of-25 shooting but the Big 12's career scoring and rebounding leader - as well as Most Valuable Player from last year's Final Four - had a horrible start in her final college game. Young went 5-for-18 in the first half for 10 points.

NO.3 STANFORD 88, NO.2 OKLAHOMA 74: Courtney Paris was double-covered all the time during Oklahoma's 19-game winning streak. Triple- and quadruple-teamed, too.

Only Stanford was good enough to make it work.

With Kristen Newlin and a rotation of teammates swarming the bulky freshman, Brooke Smith made 14 of 16 shots and scoring a career-high 35 to lead the Cardinal past the Sooners in the semifinals of the San Antonio region.

Paris set more than three dozen records this season and left with a handful more - most significantly the NCAA's single-season rebounding mark. But most of her 26 points and 16 rebounds came long after No.2 seed Oklahoma (31-5) was out of it. The Cardinal (26-7) made eight of their first nine shots, including three 3-pointers and led 19-4 five minutes in.

NO.1 LSU 66, NO.4 DePAUL 56: LSU reeled off 12 straight points in the second half - six from Seimone Augustus - and kept up its great defense to pull away from the Blue Demons in San Antonio.

Augustus scored 18 and Sylvia Fowles had 13 points and 19 rebounds to help send LSU (30-3) to the region finals for the fourth straight year. The Tigers will try making it three straight Final Fours on Monday against Stanford.

The Tigers led by at least 10 after the run, which began with DePaul (27-7) leading 33-31. The Blue Demons didn't make it to the free-throw line until there was 1:06 left. With two free throws, they became the 10th team in the NCAA Tournament's 25 years with fewer than three attempts.

DIVISION II: Julia Braseth and Crystal Zick each scored 15 and Grand Valley State (33-3) held American International scoreless for the final six minutes to win the national title 58-52 in Hot Springs, Ark. Krystal Pressley led American International (26-8) with 17 points.

[Last modified March 26, 2006, 00:26:15]