RALEIGH, N.C. — Maryland’s players didn’t panic when they fell behind by 18 in the first half and trailed by 11 midway through the second. This group of Terrapins have proven they can come back from any deficit, and it’s a big reason why they’re within a game of the Final Four.
Laurin Mincy had 21 points and a career-best 12 rebounds to help Maryland rally past defending national champion Texas A&M 81-74 on Sunday in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament’s Raleigh Regional.
Alyssa Thomas added 21 points and nine rebounds for the second-seeded Terps (31-4), who fought their way back and held the Aggies (24-11) to just one basket over the final 7:30.
“This team knows and has the confidence it can come back against anyone,” Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said.
The Terrapins rallied from 20 down early in the second half to beat Georgia Tech in January, then overcame a 10-point deficit in the first half to beat the Yellow Jackets on the road a month later. They also came back from 12 down in the first half to top Duke in February and trailed Louisville by nine in the first half of their last NCAA game.
The Terrapins have won 10 consecutive and 13 of 14 since a home loss to Virginia Tech on Jan. 26. They’re back in a regional final for the first time since 2009 when they were in Raleigh as a No. 1 seed. They’ll face top-seeded Notre Dame with a chance to reach the Final Four for the first time since winning the national championship in 2006.
Senior Lynetta Kizer, who had 15 points and the go ahead basket with 3:29 left, was a freshman on the 2009 team that lost to Louisville in the regional final.
Maryland finished with a 42-30 rebounding advantage, which led to an 18-5 edge in second-chance points. The Terrapins went ahead to stay on Kizer’s score inside off a feed from Brene Moseley that made it 75-74, which started an 8-0 run to close the game.
Thomas fed Mincy on the break after a turnover for a transition layup. Thomas followed that with a jumper in the lane with 50 seconds left after an offensive rebound from Mincy to make it 79-74, which all but sealed the victory as the Aggies missed a series of desperate three pointers in the final seconds.
Maryland also played the final 7 minutes without starter Tianna Hawkins, who suffered an apparent bruised hip when she went down in the paint. Frese said afterward that Hawkins was probably OK to return, but she didn’t want to break up the groove the Terrapins seemed to have in their comeback.
Freshman Alexia Standish scored 19 points to lead third seeded Texas A&M, which could only lament letting two double-digit leads get away as foul trouble added up.
Texas A&M, which beat Arkansas in a second-round game, got off to a fast start, jumping to a 12-2 lead and pushing that margin to 18 twice in the first half. But Maryland closed the half on a 21-6 run - including a pair of baskets from Thomas in the final 2:30 - to trail just 44-41 at halftime.
Thomas scored again to start the second half and pull the Terps within one, but Texas A&M came right back with eight consecutive points to regain control.
The Aggies led 72-65 on Kelsey Bone’s layup with 7:49 left, but they managed just one field goal - a drive from Standish with 3:48 left - the rest of the game.
“You’ve got to have that killer instinct,” Aggies Coach Gary Blair said. “We had a team on the ropes and didn’t put them away.”
NOTRE DAME 79, ST. BONAVENTURE 35
RALEIGH, N.C. - Natalie Novosel scored 16 points and Notre Dame advanced to the Raleigh Regional final by routing St. Bonaventure.
Kalia Turner scored 14 points and Kayla McBride added 10 for the top seeded Irish (33-3).
They shot 52.5 percent, never trailed and led by 45 before matching a 22-year-old record for scoring margin in the regional round while cruising into the finals for the second consecutive year.
Notre Dame will play second-seeded Maryland (31-4) on Tuesday.
CeCe Dixon had 13 points and Doris Ortega added 11 for the Bonnies (31-4).
KINGSTON REGIONAL
CONNECTICUT 77, PENN STATE 59
KINGSTON, R.I. - Bria Hartley scored 20 points to lead a balanced Connecticut offense and help the top-seeded Huskies beat fourth-seeded Penn State.
The Huskies’ stellar defense stymied a high-powered Nittany Lions offense that averaged 87.5 points in the first two games of the NCAA Tournament. It’s the seventh consecutive season that Connecticut advanced to the regional finals.
Leading 36-27 late in the first half, UConn (32-4) used a 17-2 run to pull away.
Mia Nickson scored 19 points and Maggie Lucas added 15 to lead Penn State (26-7), which was making its first appearance in the round of 16 since 2004.
KENTUCKY 79, GONZAGA 62
KINGSTON, R.I. - Keyla Snowden made five three-pointers, hitting two of them to turn back Gonzaga’s last charge as Kentucky beat the Bulldogs.
Snowden had 17 points, going 5 of 9 from three-point range, and Samarie Walker scored 16 with 12 rebounds for No. 2 seed Kentucky (28-6), which will play top-seeded Connecticut on Tuesday.
Kayla Standish scored 25 for No. 11 seed Gonzaga (28-6).
FRESNO REGIONAL
STANFORD 76, SOUTH CAROLINA 60
FRESNO, Calif. - Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 39 points and had 10 rebounds in top-seeded Stanford’s victory over No. 5 seed South Carolina on Saturday night in the Fresno Regional.
At a glance
SUNDAY’S GAMES
RALEIGH REGIONAL At PNC Arena Raleigh, N.C.
Maryland 81, Texas A&M 74
Notre Dame 79, St. Bonaventure 35
KINGSTON REGIONAL At The Ryan Center Kingston, R.I.
Connecticut 77, Penn State 59
Kentucky 79, Gonzaga 62
TODAY’S GAMES All times Central
DES MOINES REGIONAL At Wells Fargo Arena Des Moines, Iowa
Tennessee (27-8) vs. Baylor (37-0), 6 p.m.
FRESNO REGIONAL At Save Mart Center Fresno, Calif.
Duke (27-5) vs. Stanford (34-1), 8 p.m.
Sports, Pages 16 on 03/26/2012