Maryland, Duke to meet in title contest

BOSTON -- Maryland is playing for its first national championship, and these Terrapins are no fluke.

The only team to beat top-ranked North Carolina in the regular season did it again Sunday night, outhustling and outmuscling the disjointed Tar Heels 81-70 in the NCAA women's national semifinal.

In just four short years under coach Brenda Frese, the Terps have joined the nation's elite.

"They have the heart of a lion," Frese said. "They believe in each other. ... I'm really proud of them."

The Terps confounded the Tar Heels' uptempo game, forcing them in to a halfcourt match for much of the game.

Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper asserted their strong inside presence -- and the sophomores intend to be around for a while. Harper had 24 points and Langhorne scored 23 for the Terps, who had beaten the Tar Heels, their Atlantic Coast Conference rival, 98-95 in overtime in the regular season.

Carolina avenged that with a 91-80 in the ACC tournament final, but the stakes were much higher for this rubber match.

The Terps will play another ACC team, Duke, in Tuesday night's final.

Duke hammered LSU 64-45 in the other semifinal. Mistie Williams had 14 points to lead Duke.