ACC Women’s final from the Greensboro Coliseum: Terps over Heels/Blue Devils upset Seminoles

#1 Terrapins over the #4 Tar Heels courtesy of David Baxter, Greensborosports.com at the Greensboro Coliseum:

Maryland 95, North Carolina 84
1:00 PM
Greensboro, N.C. (ACC Tournament – Semifinals)

#3 Duke tops #2 Florida State

Duke 75 vs. Florida State 57
3:30 PM
Greensboro, N.C. (ACC Tournament – Semifinals)
*****Chante Black(East Forsyth) 11 points for the Duke Blue Devils.*****

AP report on the UNC-Maryland game:
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Marissa Coleman scored 29 points and No. 4 Maryland ended North Carolina’s dominance of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, beating the 11th-ranked Tar Heels 95-84 on Saturday in the semifinals.

ACC player of the year Kristi Toliver added 25 points and rookie of the year Lynetta Kizer finished with 15 for the top-seeded Terrapins (27-4).

They advanced to their first league championship game since 2006 and moved within one victory of their first conference tournament title since 1989 by snapping four-time defending champ North Carolina’s 13-game winning streak in the event.

Maryland, which has won 11 straight and 14 of 15, will face either No. 8 Duke or No. 12 Florida State in Sunday’s title game.

Italee Lucas had 26 points and made five 3-pointers for the Tar Heels (26-6). They twice rallied from double-figure deficits but couldn’t make enough plays down the stretch to avoid their first ACC tournament loss since they dropped the 2004 title game to Duke.

Jessica Breland had 23 points and Rashanda McCants added 18 and hit a 3 with 2:36 remaining that pulled North Carolina within 83-81. Demauria Liles hit a stickback moments later, and Toliver followed with two free throws and an 18-foot jumper to finally give the Terrapins a sizeable lead that they couldn’t blow.

Toliver was just 6-of-17 from the field but 13-for-13 from the free-throw line for the Terrapins, who turned North Carolina’s 19 turnovers into 31 points. They took the lead for good on Kizer’s layup with 11 minutes left, a key bucket that came during a run of 11 straight points.

Kim Rodgers had 11 points for Maryland, which denied North Carolina’s attempt to reach the title game for eighth straight year by claiming its second victory over the Tar Heels this season.

The Terrapins — who won 77-71 two months ago in College Park — went up by double figures for the second time shortly after halftime with a 14-0 run that spanned the break and led 50-38 on Coleman’s jumper with 18 minutes left.

But if nothing else, the Tar Heels showed remarkable resilience in rallying from deep deficits.

They came back from 12 down early in the second half by scoring on 11 consecutive trips downcourt during a 25-9 run that included Lucas’ third banked-in 3-pointer of the day and was capped by her free throw with 13:17 remaining that put her team up 63-61.

Earlier, North Carolina’s reinvigorated defense forced the Terrapins into a serious cold spell midway through the first half. Maryland missed 11 of 12 shots in a 9-minute stretch while allowing the Tar Heels to rally from a 13 down.

Nearly every bounce fell North Carolina’s way during that 24-6 run. Lucas banked in a pair of 3s, including one while drawing contact from Marah Strickland, and converted the four-point play that gave the Tar Heels their largest lead of the half, 35-30, at the 5-minute mark.