Kent Changes Up, Upsets Texas A

Kent, which played man-to-man defense all season, trotted out a zone Friday night at State College, Pa., and confused Texas A&M; right out of the West Regional.

The Golden Flashes (24-6), seeded 10th in the region, got 20 points from Billie Jean Smith-Goldman, who made a steal in the final seconds to seal their first NCAA tournament victory, 72-68.

It just gets more difficult for Kent, which advanced to a second-round game against Penn State, which beat Youngstown State, 94-71, and is playing on its home court.

But the Flashes can savor victory for now.

“They were a great defensive team,” said guard Lisa Branch, who led Texas A&M; (20-12) with 19 points. “They pressured us and we didn’t respond. They kept us guessing and kept us off balance.”

Smaller, quicker Kent was able to drive on the Aggies and got to the free-throw line often enough to make 27 of 32 shots.

Texas A&M; cut what once was a 12-point lead to 70-68 with 15.1 seconds to play after Marianne Sevin stole the ball from Smith-Goldman and made a layup.

Ashley Bland was fouled and made two free throws to put Kent up, 72-68. Smith-Goldman then stole an errant pass in the backcourt and dribbled out the clock.

In other games:

WEST REGIONAL

Muriel Davis and Chastity Melvin each had 17 points as North Carolina State (20-9) wore down Montana (24-5), 77-68, at Tuscaloosa, Ala., where Alabama got 32 points from Shalonda Enis in a 95-66 victory over Appalachian State.

Auburn (21-8) got 20 points from Monique Morehouse in a 73-52 victory over Hawaii (23-6) at Boulder, Colo. In the other game there, Erin Scholz scored 19 points for Colorado (26-8) in an 83-75 victory over Tulane (21-10).

EAST REGIONAL

At Charlottesville, Va., Tajama Abraham had 22 points for George Washington (26-6) in an 83-67 victory over Maine (27-5), whose 19-game winning streak ended. In the other game, Virginia (24-6) opened its 13th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance with its easiest victory ever, 100-55, over Manhattan (19-11).

MIDEAST REGIONAL

At Nashville, Tenn., Barb Franke scored 24 points to lead Wisconsin (21-7) to a 74-60 victory over Oregon (18-11), and Sheri Sam scored 39 points to lead Vanderbilt (21-7) to a 100-83 victory over Harvard (20-7).

At Iowa City, second-seeded Iowa (26-3) got 15 points each from Tangela Smith and Tiffany Gooden in a 72-67 victory over Butler (21-9), and Latasha Byears had 21 points and 11 rebounds for DePaul (21-9) in a 96-82 victory over Southern Methodist (19-11).

MIDWEST REGIONAL

Katrina Gaither scored 18 points and hauled in 13 rebounds for Notre Dame (23-7) in a 73-60 victory over Purdue (20-11) at Lubbock, Texas, where Texas Tech (26-4) got 30 points from Michi Atkins in a 78-61 victory over Portland (20-11).

Tracy Henderson had 21 points for Georgia (24-4), which closed out the first half with a 21-3 run and beat St. Francis (19-11), 98-66, at Athens, Ga. In the other game there, Gina Shaterkina scored 23 points and Oklahoma State (20-9) took a 16-point lead in the first five minutes and held on to beat Rhode Island (21-8), 90-82.