Rebels too fast for Oklahoma

By The Associated Press     Mar 26, 2007

Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, center, tries to keep Mississippi's Danetra Forrest (40) and Alliesha Easley away.

? Mississippi’s frantic and frenetic defense sure bothered Courtney Paris and Oklahoma.

Next up, the surprising Rebels will try to run top- seeded Tennessee out of the tournament.

Armintie Price scored 31 points, and Ashley Awkward added 25 for Ole Miss, which fastbreaked and trapped its way to a 90-82 win over Oklahoma on Sunday in the Dayton Regional.

The Rebels (24-10) will face the Lady Vols on Tuesday night, with a spot in the Final Four awaiting the winner. The Lady Vols, who beat Marist, 65-46, in the other semi, topped Ole Miss, 81-69, at home on Feb. 15 in their only meeting this season.

“We are looking forward to that,” Price said of the rematch. “We know a lot about Tennessee. They’re a championship team. They’ve been here many times. We’re just going to do what we do best, which is run, and try to get them a little bit bothered.”

The Rebels came out running and never stopped, denying passes, harassing shooters and trapping surprised Sooners whether they were in the corner or the middle of the floor.

Averaging 18 turnovers a game, Oklahoma had 15 by halftime and finished with 26. The Rebels piled up 16 steals.

Coach Carol Ross said with her team’s unique style, she doesn’t have to spend a lot of time drawing up game plans. The Rebels play everybody the same.

“We’re not going to deviate from what we do best and we’re not going to let another team dictate how we play,” she said. “We are what we are, for good or bad. And we’re going to play the way we have to play to be successful.”

Paris led Oklahoma (28-5) with 31 points and 20 rebounds. Chelsi Welch and Britney Brown each added 11 points for the Sooners, who never led after the 15-minute mark of the first half.

It didn’t take long for Paris to realize the Rebels had ratcheted up the pace of the game.

“When we started off we were playing at a super-fast speed – faster than we like to play,” Paris said. “If I wanted to play that fast, I would have gone to Mississippi.”

Price also had 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals – making her only the second player in NCAA history to have 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 400 assists and 400 steals. She joined Cheryl Miller.

Alliesha Easley added 12 points for the Rebels, who will be making their fifth trip to a regional championship game.

Ole Miss hit just 38 percent of its shots from the field – and that includes numerous layups that followed steals or capped fastbreaks. But the defense never took a breather.

“They’re just so quick,” Oklahoma’s Leah Rush said. “Taking care of the ball, we didn’t do that very well. … They’re incredibly fast. And it took us a little too long to adjust.”

Hustle plays kept the Rebels on top. During one span late in the game, forward Jada Mincy twice rebounded missed second free throws. During the one sequence down the court, the Rebels got six free throws, three points and took precious time off the clock.

“There were two statistical categories that didn’t bode well for us,” coach Sherri Coale said. “One being turnovers and the other being offensive rebounds that we allowed Ole Miss to get.”

Asked what the secret was for the Rebels, how they were able to stay with a team so much bigger and stronger, Price said the answer was simple.

“We try to be the first one to the ball,” she said.

Dayton Regional

Tennessee 65, Marist 46

Dayton, Ohio – Candace Parker hit her first eight shots and the top-seeded Lady Vols used a 14-0 first-half run to take control, ending Marist’s great tournament run.

Parker roamed the lane, frequently leaping over the smaller Red Foxes, for 16 points. Shannon Bobbitt and Sidney Spencer each had 11 for Tennessee, which improved its record to 22-4 in regional semifinals.

Meg Dahlman had 16 points and Rachele Fitz 13 for Marist, which never had won an NCAA Tournament game until last weekend. The Red Foxes stunned fourth-seeded Ohio State, 67-63, in the first round and fifth-seeded Middle Tennessee, 73-59, in the second round.

Dallas Regional

Purdue 78, Georgia 65

Dallas – Katie Gearlds had 30 points and nine rebounds to help Purdue overcome a big early deficit and advance to the Dallas Regional final.

Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton had 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds, while Danielle Campbell had 11 points for Purdue, which won its 10th straight game. Gearlds was 10-of-16 shooting with four 3-pointers.

The Boilermakers will play North Carolina on Tuesday.

Tasha Humphrey had 20 points to lead Georgia, which was in the round of 16 for the fifth straight season. It was the fourth time in that stretch the Lady Bulldogs didn’t advance past that.

North Carolina 70, George Washington 56

Dallas – Once pesky defender Whitney Allen landed on the bench with foul trouble, the Tar Heels had little trouble with the Colonials.

Allen’s pesky defense bothered top-seeded North Carolina from the start but her aggressiveness also led to three fouls in the first seven minutes. As she watched from the bench, Ivory Latta and the Tar Heels went on a 22-5 run and never looked back.

LaToya Pringle had 16 points and 14 rebounds for North Carolina, which reached the Final Four last year and has been ousted by the eventual national champion two years in a row.

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