NORFOLK, Va. – Amber Jacobs made a high-arching layup with 2.5 seconds left in overtime, lifting Boston College to an 86-85 comeback victory over Vanderbilt in the East Regional on Monday night.
The fifth-seeded Eagles (22-8) advanced to the round of the 16 for the first time in five trips to the tournament, and got both victories on game-winning shots by Jacobs. The junior guard stunned regional host Old Dominion 73-72 by making a jumper with 3.3 seconds to play in the first round.
Vanderbilt (22-10) had taken a 85-84 lead on Hillary Hager’s fifth 3-pointer in as many tries with 12.7 seconds to play in the extra period.
Jacobs scored 25 points for the Eagles, 18 after halftime. Becky Gottstein added 24 points and eight rebounds, and was spared an agonizing memory when Jacobs’ shot lingered on the rim, then finally bounced in.
Purdue 80, Virginia Tech 62
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Erika Valek scored 24 points, Mary Jo Noon had 17 and Beth Jones added 16 as Purdue advanced to the round of 16 for the eighth time with an 80-62 win over Virginia Tech on Monday in the East Regional.
The second-seeded Boilermakers (28-5) will play the winner of Tuesday’s game between Notre Dame and Kansas State.
Chrystal Starling led the seventh-seeded Hokies (22-10) with 16 points and Kerri Gardin added 12.
The Boilermakers received a scare when their 17-point lead was slashed to five, but still finished the season 15-0 at home. They went undefeated at Mackey Arena for the fourth time. They seemed on pace to accomplish it a year ago, but were stunned in the second round at Mackey Arena by Old Dominion.
Purdue used that loss as motivation all season.
Georgia 74, Rutgers 64
ATHENS, Ga. – Christi Thomas, Alexis Kendrick and Ebony Felder each scored 17 points as Georgia beat Rutgers 74-64 in the second round of the Midwest Regional on Monday night.
The fifth-seeded Lady Bulldogs advanced to the round of 16 for the 13th time.
Georgia (21-9) likely will be without starting guard Sherrill Baker, who left early in the second half with a separated right shoulder. The Lady Bulldogs have been without leading scorer Kara Braxton since February when coach Andy Landers kicked her off the team for violating unspecified team rules.
Georgia led by as many as 12, but fourth-seeded Rutgers went on a 27-17 run, ending with Chelsea Newton’s lay-in with 4:01 remaining and cutting the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to 54-52.
Tennessee 81, Virginia 51
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Shyra Ely had 17 points and nine rebounds and Gwen Jackson added 13 points as Tennessee advanced to its 22nd straight round of 16 with an 81-51 win over Virginia in the Mideast Regional on Monday night.
The top-seeded Lady Vols (30-4), the only team to appear in every regional semifinal since the NCAA women’s tournament began in 1982, led from the tipoff and were hardly challenged in improving their NCAA home record to 42-0.
Tennessee, also hosting the regional, will play the winner of Tuesday night’s game between South Carolina and Penn State on Saturday.
The Lady Vols led 33-24 at halftime and increased it to 17 before Virginia pulled within 12 with 10:45 remaining. Tennessee, having no desire to make the game close, went on an 18-4 run to increase its lead to 26.
N. Mexico 73, Miss. St. 61
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Jordan Adams scored 19 points and New Mexico hit 13 3-pointers as the sixth-seeded Lobos beat third-seeded Mississippi State 73-61 in the second round of the Midwest Regional on Monday night.
New Mexico stunned the Lady Bulldogs (24-8) early by hitting their first six 3-pointers and 10 of their first 12 shots. New Mexico, playing on its home court before a frenzied sellout crowd of 16,214, hit nine 3s in the first half.
Eight straight points by New Mexico, on a layup by Adams and back-to-back 3s by Mandi Moore and Lindsey Arndt, gave the Lobos a 36-22 lead. Moore finished with 19 points, including five 3-pointers.
All-American LaToya Thomas scored 29 points and had 16 rebounds to lead the Lady Bulldogs, while guard Tan White finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Colorado 86, N. Carolina 67
BOULDER, Colo. – Tera Bjorklund scored a career-high 34 points, and Colorado hit nine 3-pointers to beat North Carolina 86-67 Monday night in the second round of the Mideast Regional.
North Carolina (28-6), the No. 3 seed, was led by Nikita Bell and Candace Sutton, who each scored 12 points. Bell also had 10 rebounds.
Bjorklund, the Buffaloes’ 6-foot-5 junior center, was 11-of-14 from the floor and 12-of-17 from the line. She also had eight rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals.
Kate Fagan added 16 points for Colorado, including five 3-pointers.
, and Linda Lappe had 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Buffaloes, playing on their home court, outshot the Tar Heels 49 percent to 36 percent and also made 31 of 39 free throws compared to Carolina’s 9-of-16.
Bjorklund scored 17 points in the first half to help give Colorado a 36-27 lead. She had 13 of Colorado’s first 16 points, drawing four fouls on the Tar Heels in the process.
North Carolina, ranked 12th in the final Associated Press poll, had seven turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game and had 13 turnovers in the half.
Bell hit back-to-back layups early in the second half to cut the deficit to 38-33, but Fagan’s 3-pointer and Bjorklund’s short jumper made it 43-33.
The Buffs steadily increased their lead to as many as 21 points, 80-59. The Tar Heels were forced to foul, and Colorado made 15 of 16 free throws in the final 4:50.
AP-ES-03-25-03 0001EST
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