Times wires
Friday, March 4, 2011
NASHVILLE — Glory Johnson had 11 rebounds and a career-high 25 points and Shekinna Stricklen 20 points to help lead No. 4 Tennessee past Florida 92-75 in the SEC tournament quarterfinals Friday.
"Being a post player, you have to get your touches from the guards," said Johnson, whose team faces Georgia in today's semifinals. "I'm not trying to take all the credit. I have off games. There's times where I'm not hitting shots and pulling rebounds. That's why I rely on my teammates. (Friday), they relied on me and Shekinna."
The Gators (18-14) trailed just 38-36 at halftime. But Johnson scored the second half's first six points — a long-range jumper, shot in the paint and fastbreak layup — over the first 1:25.
"We knew they were going to come out at halftime and come out on a run," Florida guard Deana Allen said. "When Glory was scoring back to back to back, it deflated us in a way. We knew we had to answer."
Jordan Jones' ensuing 3-pointer made it 44-39. But that was as close as Florida got.
"I told the team in the locker room there were a lot of things we could have done better, but there's no way we could have fought any harder than we did," Florida coach Amanda Butler said. "However, we didn't come here to put up a good fight."
More SEC: Georgia scored the game's first seven points and did not trail in beating South Carolina 66-34. … A'dia Mathies' three-point play with 38.8 seconds left lifted No. 16 Kentucky past LSU 60-58. Victoria Dunlap made a free throw with 12.5 seconds left for the Wildcats, who face the winner of Friday's late game between Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. Then the Tigers missed two shots.
Big East: USF falls
HARTFORD, Conn. — Playing without top scorer Andrea Smith for all but 58 seconds, USF lost to Pittsburgh 63-60 in the first round of the Big East tournament.
Smith, a second-team All-Big East selection, injured her knee. Results of Friday's MRI exam were not available.
Down 15 in the second half, the Bulls (12-19) rallied to take the lead with 49 seconds left on Leondra Doomes-Stephens' free throw. Pittsburgh, which faces No. 20 Marquette today, retook the lead on a three-point play by Chelsea Cole with 28 seconds left. And Doomes-Stephens and Andrell Smith missed 3-pointers during the final five seconds.
More Big East: Syracuse used a 20-5 run bridging the halves to rout Seton Hall 74-44. The Orange, which faces No. 17 Georgetown, has won games in consecutive conference tournaments for the first time since 1985 and 1986. … Up 37-23, West Virginia held Cincinnati scoreless for the first 6:40 of the second half on its way to a 66-41 victory. Up next is St. John's.
ACC: No. 10 Miami pulled away late to beat N.C. State 93-85 in the quarterfinals in Greensboro, N.C. After losing all but one point of their 19-point lead, the Hurricanes, who play the winner of the late game between No. 14 Florida State and No. 19 North Carolina, went on a 15-6 run. … Jasmine Thomas capped first-half runs of 12-0 and 18-3 with baskets to help No. 8 Duke beat Wake Forest 79-50. The Blue Devils have beaten the Demon Deacons 35 consecutive times dating to the 1993 ACC tournament. Duke faces Georgia Tech, which upset No. 13 Maryland 70-64. Sasha Goodlett tied a season high with 18, eight during an 18-5 second-half run for the Yellow Jackets.
No. 11 Mich. St. 56, N'western 25: The Spartans forced 23 turnovers in the Big Ten quarterfinals in Indianapolis. The Wildcats made just 10 of 46 shots and 0 of 16 3-pointers but fell shy of the Division I record for points. That's 11 by Tennessee State in an 82-11 loss to Georgia Tech on Dec. 30.
No. 21 Marist 61, St. Peter's 33: Erica Allenspach scored all 16 of her points in the first half, including consecutive 3-pointers that started a 10-0 run, as the Red Foxes won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference quarterfinal in Bridgeport, Conn.
. Fast facts
Sunshine State Conference
All games at Florida Tech in Melbourne.
Women
Today's semis: Tampa vs. Florida Tech, noon; Eckerd vs. Florida Southern, 2:30
Sunday's final: 1, BHSN
Men
Today's semis: Eckerd vs. Florida Southern, 5; Tampa vs. Rollins, 7:30
Sunday's final: 3:30, BHSN