GREENSBORO, N.C. — Using the tip in a pep talk by former Terrapins football star LaMont Jordan, Maryland's players converged at midcourt before the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game yesterday and started to scuff the league logo.

"He said every time he went into New York he always went to the 50-yard line and marked his territory," senior guard Kristi Toliver said. "So that's what we were kind of doing in North Carolina."

After knocking off four-time defending champion North Carolina and rival Duke on consecutive days, Tobacco Road — and the ACC — belong to the fourth-ranked Terrapins.

Marissa Coleman had 28 points and 15 rebounds, Toliver added 24 points and Maryland captured its first ACC title in 20 years with a 92-89 overtime victory over No. 8 Duke yesterday.

A day after ending the Tar Heels' run of dominance, the Terrapins (28-4) likely locked up a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament.

Maryland and Duke (26-5) kept the game in doubt until the last possession, when Abby Waner's desperation 3-pointer only hit the backboard.

No. 1 Connecticut 79, South Florida 42: Kalana Greene scored a season-high 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and Connecticut (31-0) rolled into the semifinals of the Big East tournament by beating South Florida (22-10) at Hartford, Conn.

No. 3 Oklahoma 74, No. 15 Texas 62: Danielle Robinson scored 17 points for visiting Oklahoma (27-3, 15-1) in a victory over Texas (20-10, 8-8). Courtney Paris added 16 points for the Sooners, but had just six rebounds to miss her 124th career double-double in 130 games.

No. 22 Vanderbilt 61, No. 6 Auburn 54: Christina Wirth scored 20 points and Vanderbilt (24-8) beat Auburn (29-3) to win the Southeastern Conference tournament at North Little Rock, Ark. The Commodores upset the Tigers for the second time in three weeks to win the SEC tournament for the sixth time.

No. 7 Louisville 87, Rutgers 82: Angel McCoughtry scored 35 points, including seven in the second overtime, as Louisville (28-3) beat Rutgers (19-12) and moved into the Big East semifinals at Hartford, Conn. Becky Burke added 18 points for the Cardinals.

No. 12 Ohio State 67, Purdue 66: Jantel Lavender made one of two free throws with 6.2 seconds left, giving Ohio State (27-5) the Big Ten tournament championship at Indianapolis. Lavender finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Brittany Rayburn of Purdue (22-10) missed the potential winning shot as the buzzer sounded.

No. 14 Pittsburgh 62, DePaul 59: Shavonte Zellous scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half to help Pittsburgh (23-6) hold off DePaul (23-9) in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament at Hartford, Conn. Xenia Stewart scored 14 points and Sophronia Sallard added 12 for Pitt.

Villanova 58, No. 20 Notre Dame 47: Laura Kurz had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Villanova (19-12) beat Notre Dame (22-8) to advance to the semifinals of the Big East tournament at Hartford, Conn.

CONFERENCE FINALS

CONFERENCE USA

CENTRAL FLORIDA 65, SOUTHERN MISS 54: Emma Cannon scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and Central Florida (17-16) won the tournament with an overtime victory over Southern Mississippi (20-12).

METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC

Marist 78, Canisius 63: Erica Allenspach scored a career-high 22 points and tournament MVP Julianne Viani also had 22 to help Marist (29-3) beat Canisius (24-8) for the title at Albany, N.Y.