Miller, Maryland reach Elite Eight
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Diamond Miller scored 14 of her 18 points in the final two quarters to lead second-seeded Maryland to a 76-59 victory over depleted Notre Dame and reach the Elite Eight for the first time in eight years.
Shyanne Sellers also had 18 points for the Terps, who’ll play either defending champion South Carolina, the top overall seed, or No. 4 seed UCLA on Monday night for a trip to Dallas for the Final Four.
Maryland (28-6) used a third-quarter burst to put away the third-seeded Fighting Irish (27-6), who played once again without injured leading-scorer Olivia Miles after her knee injury at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament earlier this month.
Miles and guard Dara Mabrey, both starters, were injured spectators for Notre Dame, which hung tight with Maryland for 25 minutes before
Miller and Shyanne Sellers took over.
Miller, the first-team All-American, shook off a poor first half as Maryland gained control.
With the score tied at 44-all, Lavender Briggs had a 3-pointer and Miller followed with a threepoint play as the Terps closed the third quarter on a 13-1 run.
Notre Dame, which fought off Mississippi State on its home floor to advance last week, could not respond.
Sonia Citron led the Fighting Irish with 14 points, their only doublefigure scorer.
Virginia Tech 73, Tennessee 64:
Georgia Amoore scored a career-high 29 points and top-seeded Virginia Tech advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. The Hokies won their 14th consecutive game overall and advanced to a matchup with No. 3 seed Ohio State in the Seattle 3 Regional final on Monday night.
Note: Cincinnati hired former Memphis coach Katrina Merriweather as its new women's basketball coach Saturday.