DURHAM, N.C. - De-Paul kept taking the ball from Duke with its intense press, and answering seemingly every big Blue Devils bucket with a three-pointer.
That energy and efficiency sent the Blue Demons into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
DePaul upset Duke 74-65 on Monday night in the second round after hitting a season-high 14 three-pointers.
Seven of them came immediately after baskets by the Blue Devils.
“We have the greenish green light,” guard Brittany Hrynko said. “He [Coach Doug Bruno] doesn’t mind us taking 3s. He said as long as we take them, we have to defend and rebound.’”
Megan Rogowski scored 22 points with six 3s, Megan Podkowa added 18 points and Hrynko had 14 for the seventh-seeded Blue Demons (29-6).
“It has to absolutely be the biggest win for this group of young women this season,”Bruno said of a team that has won 18 of 19.
They earned their third appearance in the round of 16 by hitting those three-pointers and forcing second-seeded but injury-depleted Duke into 21 turnovers with their high-pressure defense.
DePaul will play the James Madison-Texas A&M winner on Saturday in the Lincoln Regional semifinals.
Elizabeth Williams scored 12 points and blocked seven shots. Seniors Haley Peters and Tricia Liston each added 11 in their final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke (28-7) led for only 12 seconds and became the first top-four seed to lose in the tournament.
The Blue Devils - who made four consecutive appearances in the regional finals - became the first No. 2 seed to lose this early since Xavier lost to Louisville in 2011.
“They were on top of our ball handlers, and we didn’t handle it very well,” Peters said. “We just got a little bit rattled, I think, by how aggressive and how much pressure they put on us.”
Jasmine Penny added 11 points for DePaul. The Big East champs were coming off a 104-100 victory over Oklahoma in the first round, the highest-scoring regulation game in tournament history.
Ka’lia Johnson scored 11 points and Oderah Chidom added 10 for Duke, which lost an NCAA Tournament game at Cameron for the first time since 1996 and was denied its 17th regional semifinal berth in 18 years.
BRIGHAM YOUNG 80, NEBRASKA 76
LOS ANGELES - Morgan Bailey tied her career high with 18 points, Jennifer Hamson had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Brigham Young held on to beat Nebraska, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.
Lexi Eaton added 15 points and Xojian Harry hit 3 three-pointers in the final eight minutes for the 12th-seeded Cougars (28-6), who became just the third No. 12 seed to reach the final 16.
They led by 17 points in the first half on the way to their second consecutive upset. The Cougars defeated No. 5 seed North Carolina State in the first round at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. Next up is either Connecticut or St. Joseph’s.
Tear’a Laudermill scored 22 points and Big Ten player of the year Jordan Hooper added 20 points for fourth-seeded Nebraska (26-7), which now hosts a regional it won’t be playing in.
LOUISVILLE REGIONAL TENNESSEE 67, ST. JOHN’S 51
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Cierra Burdick had 21 points and 11 rebounds as Tennessee relied on its smothering defense to pull away from St. John’s.
Although St. John’s (23-11) never led, the Red Storm tied the game 39-39 with 16:59 remaining. St. John’s would score just two more points over the next nine minutes. The Red Storm shot 5 of 24 and committed 13 turnovers in the second half.
Meighan Simmons scored 17 points as Tennessee (29-5) won for the 15th time in its last 16 games. Isabelle Harrison had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Aliyyah Handford scored 23 for St. John’s.
STANFORD REGIONAL STANFORD 63, FLORIDA STATE 44
AMES, Iowa - Chiney Ogwumike had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Stanford broke open the game with a 30-2 run spanning the halves in a victory over Florida State.
The second-seeded Cardinal (31-3) won two games in Ames to advance to the regional they’ll host at Maples Pavilion starting Saturday. They’re in the Sweet 16 for the seventh year in a row.
The 10th-seeded Seminoles (21-12) struggled to score in both of their two tournament games, following a 55-44 victory over Iowa State with another dud.
Lili Thompson added 14 points and Bonnie Samuelson had 11 with 3 three-pointers. The Cardinal had 17 assists on 22 field goals.
Sports, Pages 20 on 03/25/2014