March 25, 2006

Box Score | Quotes | Notes

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- 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 seeded Maryland to a 82-63 win over the third-seeded Lady Bears on Saturday night to eliminate Sophia Young and the defending national champions from the NCAA tournament.

The Terrapins (31-4) advanced to meet the winner of the late contest between Utah and Boston College in Monday's Albuquerque Regional final, with a berth in the Final Four at stake.

Anything seems possible for Maryland under fourth-year coach Brenda Frese, whose young team is one game from the program's first Final Four appearance since 1989. The Terps were in the Round of 16 for the first time since 1992, and now they want more.

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 tipoff and the Bears (26-7) couldn't survive one of their worst shooting nights of the season. Baylor shot just 33 percent (25-of-74).

Young, meanwhile, 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, got off to a horrible start in her final college game.

No other Baylor player scored in double figures.

Young went 5-for-18 in the first half for 10 points. She never found her rhythm until Maryland's lead reached double-digits midway through the second half, not with Langhorne and Laura Harper doing fine work as they swapped the defensive assignment.

Langhorne, meanwhile, was ready to go. She scored the game's first eight points and had 20 points by halftime as Maryland led 35-28 at the break. Langhorne -- who else? -- capped the first 20 minutes with a layup that beat the horn.

Her talent wasn't exactly classified information, but compared to Young, she's an under-the-radar star. Langhorne was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection who scored 30 points and made two key late baskets when Maryland beat St. John's in the second round Tuesday.

Baylor, in the tournament for the fifth time in six seasons, reached the regional semifinals for the third straight year. But after flattening over Northern Arizona and New Mexico to reach this point, the Bears went flat.

After shooting 26 percent (11-of-41) in the first half, Baylor missed its first six attempts after the break.

In the first half, Baylor started 3-for-20 from the floor while Maryland built an early 14-7 lead.