Missouri Upsets Stunned Georgia

When the final horn sounded, Kelly Miller slumped forward as if she had been punched in the stomach. Coco Miller gnawed at her jersey and fought back tears as she trotted off the court.

For Georgia’s twin stars, the last college game was a most stunning loss.

Amanda Lassiter scored 22 points and No. 10-seeded Missouri upset the No. 2 Bulldogs, 78-65, Sunday in the second round of the NCAA East Regional at Athens, Ga.

The Bulldogs (27-6), who had entered the game believing they deserved a No. 1 seeding, couldn’t even get past the subregional on their home court.

Missouri (22-9) snapped Georgia’s 24-game winning streak at Stegeman Coliseum and became the first road team to win an NCAA game at Athens since 1990.

“The whole team played hard,” Coco Miller said, choking with emotion at the postgame news conference. “It’s just too bad it had to end like this.”

The Miller twins made it to the Final Four as sophomores but never got back. The Bulldogs, who were beaten in the regional final a year ago, watched Missouri pull away in the second half to hand Georgia its most surprising NCAA loss in school history.

Kelly Miller was held to 11 points on five-of-16 shooting, while Coco made only five of 15 shots for 10 points.

Lassiter sank four three-pointers and had seven rebounds and six steals. Marlena Williams added 19 points for the Tigers, who until this year had not won an NCAA game since 1986.

North Carolina State 68, Villanova 64--Carisse Moody and Tynesha Lewis recovered from poor first-round outings to combine for 43 points as the Wolfpack (22-10) defeated the Wildcats (22-9) in an East Regional game at Raleigh, N.C.

Moody, who had nine points Friday in a victory over Delaware, was seven for 14 from the field for 22 points. Lewis added 21 points, making seven of 10 shots.

MIDEAST REGIONAL

Tennessee 92, St. Mary’s 75--The Gaels gave the Lady Vols one of their biggest tournament scares on their home floor, but Kara Lawson’s 17 points helped Tennessee prevail at Knoxville, Tenn.

Five players were in double figures for No. 1-seeded Tennessee (31-2), which will play No. 4 Xavier in the regional semifinals Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.

Ninth-seeded St. Mary’s (26-6) came into the game on an 11-game winning streak, having won the school’s first tournament game two days ago.

Tennessee led, 49-41, at halftime and pushed the lead to 12 in the opening minutes before the Gaels started chipping away. They got as close as three twice, the last time at 65-62 on a bucket by Triola Alexander with 6:33 remaining.

Then senior Semeka Randall took over for Tennessee. She drove to the basket, was fouled and sank both free throws. Then she made a jumper to start a 7-2 spurt that pushed the lead to 72-62.

Purdue 73, Louisiana State 70--Katie Douglas scored 21 points as the Boilermakers held off the Tigers at West Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue (28-6) avenged a 62-55 loss to LSU in December and erased the sting of last year’s second-round home loss to Oklahoma. Marie Ferdinand had a game-high 34 points for the Tigers (20-11).

Xavier 77, Clemson 62--Reetta Piipari sank three three-pointers during a 12-2 first-half run as the Musketeers (30-2) won for the 20th consecutive time, defeating the Tigers (20-11) in the second round at Cincinnati.

Texas Tech 73, Virginia Tech 52--Plenette Pierson scored a career-high 28 points as the Red Raiders (25-6) overcame a slow start to beat the Hokies (21-9) in the second round at Lubbock, Texas.

WEST REGIONAL

Washington 86, Florida 75--The Huskies kept alive their long and unlikely adventure in the tournament, thanks to good shooting and a clutch 14-point effort from freshman Andrea Lalum in an upset victory over the Gators at Gainesville, Fla.

Forced to travel 3,000 miles after losing their final two regular-season games, the No. 6 Huskies (21-9) looked right at home.

Freshman Giuliana Mendiola led Washington with 18 points, but no one came through more than Lalum, who made four key shots down the stretch to help hold off a strong Florida rally.

Brandi McCain led the Gators (24-6) with 23 points, but made only eight of 29 shots.

MIDWEST REGIONAL

Iowa State 85, Florida State 70--The Cyclones got 26 points from Angie Welle and reached the round of 16 for the third consecutive year with their victory over Florida State at Ames, Iowa.

Megan Taylor made five three-pointers and added 22 points for No. 2-seeded Iowa State (27-5).

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SCORES/SCHEDULE, D10