Florida State stops No. 2 Stanford

Florida State brought back nightmares of 1998 for second-seeded Stanford, beating the Cardinal, 68-61, on its home court Monday in the second round of the NCAA women’s tournament at Palo Alto.

After Candice Wiggins’ three-point shot gave Stanford a 50-49 lead with 8:40 left, Alicia Gladden scored the last seven points of an 11-0 run that sent No. 10-seeded Florida State to the first second-round victory in school history. It avenged an 18-point loss to the Cardinal last season.

“Once we saw the brackets come out, we knew we’d get Stanford,” Tanae Davis-Cain said. “This was payback.”

The defeat recalled the Cardinal’s first-round loss nine years ago to Harvard, the only time a No. 16 team has defeated a No. 1.

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Louisiana State 49, West Virginia 43 -- Sylvia Fowles scored 14 of her 21 points in the second half as the third-seeded Tigers (28-7) beat the 11th-seeded Mountaineers (21-11) at Austin, Texas.

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DAYTON REGIONAL

Oklahoma 78, Marquette 47 -- Courtney Paris scored 24 points for the No. 3-seeded Sooners (28-4) in the victory over the No. 6 Golden Eagles (26-7) at Austin, Texas.

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Marist 73, Middle Tennessee 59 -- The Red Foxes (29-5) became only the third 13th-seeded team to make the round of 16 after beating the fifth-seeded Blue Raiders (30-4) at Palo Alto.

“We weren’t getting flustered, and I think that was driving them nuts,” Marist’s Julianne Viani said of Middle Tennessee’s full-court pressure.

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DALLAS REGIONAL

Purdue 76, Georgia Tech 63 -- Katie Gearlds’ 26 points led the No. 2-seeded Boilermakers (30-5) over the No. 7 Yellow Jackets (21-12) at Minneapolis.

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Georgia 76, Iowa State 56 -- The No. 3 Bulldogs (27-6) shot 61% to beat the sixth-seeded Cyclones (26-9) at Minneapolis.

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Women’s tournament at a glance

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In a tournament where second-round upsets are a rarity, No. 2 Stanford was eliminated, No. 3 Louisiana State barely advanced, and No. 13 Marist made its stake at becoming the women’s version of last year’s George Mason men’s team. Here were the sidelights:

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Get this, Poughkeepsie

Marist, a school with an enrollment of 4,000 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was big time to Coach Brian Giorgis.

Before he arrived five seasons ago, he had coached for 19 years at Poughkeepsie’s Our Lady of Lourdes High School. Not just girls’ basketball, but baseball, volleyball, golf, tennis and softball, where his team took the state title in 1990.

Now he has his team in the NCAA women’s Sweet 16.

“Absolutely incredible,” Giorgis said. “These kids never stop ceasing to amaze me.”

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Biggest question

Who’s the next Louisiana State coach? With Pokey Chatman resigning in controversy just before the NCAA tournament, the Tigers have to make a decision. Among those available is former Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor, 63, who told the Houston Chronicle last week that he is looking for “the right opportunity” and a school that has a “mutual interest.” Then again, there are high-profile openings at Texas (Jody Conradt resigned) and Florida (Carolyn Peck was fired) too.

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Biggest change

Tonight, Sa’de Wiley-Gatewood, a Tennessee transfer and former Lynwood High standout, will start in place of Maryland’s 2006 NCAA championship hero Kristi Tolliver, in a second-round game against Mississippi.

“We felt that Kristi has been putting too much pressure on herself,” said Coach Brenda Frese, who didn’t make the switch until the NCAA opener. Tolliver, who last year made the three-pointer that sent the NCAA final into overtime, responded with 13 points and nine assists off the bench in the Terrapins’ first-round victory.