SPOKANE, Wash. -- Lexie Brown felt the need to apologize.
Every shot she took in the regional semifinals failed to fall through the net and even though Maryland advanced, she believed an expression of regret was in order.
Words weren't needed. Brown's actions on Monday night were plenty, helping lead Maryland back to the Final Four for the second consecutive year and pushing aside Tennessee to get there yet again.
"Any elite athlete owns their mistakes, you have to learn from the experience and move forward, get better," Brown said.
Brown scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, Brionna Jones added 14 points and nine rebounds and top-seeded Maryland advanced to its second Final Four in a row with a 58-48 victory over Tennessee on Monday in the Spokane Regional final.
Brown hit 3 three-pointers in the second half as the Terrapins (34-2) overcame their lowest-scoring first half of the season to knock out Tennessee from the NCAAs for the second year in a row.
Last year, it was an upset of the Lady Volunteers in the round of 16. This time, Maryland was the favorite and played as such, closing the game on a 17-4 run and holding Tennessee to just one field goal over the final five minutes.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 12 points for the Terrapins, who won their 28th consecutive game.
It's the fifth Final Four appearance for the Terrapins and third under Coach Brenda Frese. Next up for the Terrapins: Connecticut in the national semifinals. The Terrapins lost to Notre Dame in last year's national semis.
"It kind of went through each and every player on this team in terms of stepping up and wanting to make plays for us," Frese said.
Ariel Massengale led Tennessee (30-6) with 16 points, but the Lady Vols missed their chance at reaching the Final Four for the first time since 2008.
Tennessee's task of getting back to the Final Four became far more difficult when leading scorer Isabelle Harrison was lost for the season to a knee injury in February. The Lady Vols' rallied from 17 down with less than 7 minutes remaining to beat hometown Gonzaga in overtime in the Sweet 16.
But Tennessee's run ended against Maryland on Monday.
"I think we kind of wore down a little bit," Tennessee Coach Holly Warlick said. "They hit big shots."
Sports on 03/31/2015