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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, March 7, 2010

Nebraska rallies to stay unbeaten


Associated Press

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kelsey Griffin's career-high 36 points helped spark a second-half rally, and No. 3 Nebraska beat Kansas State 82-72 yesterday to become the first Big 12 team to roll unbeaten through an entire regular season.

"We're excited about what we've done at this stage and where we've put ourselves," Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. "But by no means are we going to pat ourselves on the back too much and think this is the pinnacle."

The Huskers (29-0, 16-0) trailed the short-handed Wildcats by as many as 11 points in the first half and faced a surprising 45-38 deficit at intermission.

But with Griffin leading the way, Nebraska unleashed an 18-3 run and seized a 56-48 lead less than 5 minutes into the second half. The Wildcats (13-17, 5-11), with only seven healthy players, never recovered despite 24 points from Ashley Sweat.

"Our defensive pressure got after it," Yori said. "We took things away from them."

Nebraska and No. 1 UConn (30-0) are the only unbeaten teams in Division I women's basketball.

No. 2 Stanford 63, California 48: Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 22 points and 14 rebounds and the visiting Cardinal (28-1, 18-0) completed their first unbeaten run through the Pac-10 schedule since 2002 with a victory over the Bears (17-12, 11-7).

No. 4 Tennessee 68, Vanderbilt 49: Alyssia Brewer scored 15 points and the Lady Vols (29-20 rolled into the Southeastern Conference tournament title game against Kentucky or Mississippi State with a rout of the Commodores (22-10).

No. 5 Xavier 61, Richmond 52: Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Amber Harris had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Musketeers past the Spiders (19-12) and into today's tournament semifinal against Charlotte at Upper Marlboro, Md.

No. 6 Notre Dame 89, Louisville 52: Erica Williamson scored 16 points to lead four teammates in double figures as the Irish (26-4) routed the Cardinals (14-17) to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament at Hartford, Conn., against No. 16 St. John's.

No. 9 Duke 67, Georgia Tech 55: Jasmine Thomas scored all 10 of her points in the second half and the Blue Devils (26-5) used a late 20-7 run to beat the Yellow Jackets (22-9) and reach the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title game against North Carolina at Greensboro, N.C.

No. 10 Ohio State 82, Wisconsin 73: Samantha Prahalis scored 29 points and Jantel Lavender added 27 to help the Buckeyes (29-4) beat the Badgers (21-8) and advance to the Big Ten tournament final against Iowa at Indianapolis.

PACIFIC WEST

DIXIE STATE 99, Hawai'i Pacific 80: Tanya Clark scored 18 points, and Johnna Brown, Jessie Ingraham and Deanna Daniel each contributed 17 as the host Red Storm (17-8, 13-3) beat the Pacific West Conference regular-season champion Sea Warriors (17-6, 13-2) at St. George, Utah.

Notre Dame de Namur 62, BYU-HAWAI'I 58: Katie Zasly scored 16 points, Natellie Saia had 13 and Pilar Mullins 12, leading the host Argonauts (16-11, 12-4) over the Seasiders (9-16, 5-10) at Belmont, Calif.

GRAND CANYON 90, HAWAI'I-HILO 42: Samantha Murphy scored 23 points to lead three teammates in double figures as the host Antelopes (19-8, 13-3) opened up a 43-19 halftime lead in cruising past the Vulcans (7-19, 4-11) at Phoenix.

Dominican (Ca.) 90, Chaminade 60: Alisha Flatten scored 24 points, Michaelia Baskerville added 11 points and 14 rebounds, and the host Lady Penguins (7-20, 4-12) routed the Silverswords (0-22, 0-15) at San Rafael, Calif.