Associated Press
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Lynetta Kizer had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help Maryland hold off North Carolina 83-77 on Thursday in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Tianna Hawkins added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the ninth-seeded Terrapins (19-11), who saw a 16-point second-half lead whittled all the way to two in the final seconds before holding on. It was a big win for the defending tournament champions, who had lost eight of 12 to put their NCAA tournament hopes in jeopardy.
Now Maryland is headed for Friday’s quarterfinals and a date with No. 9 Duke, the tournament’s top seed.
Cetera DeGraffenreid scored 23 points to lead the eighth-seeded Tar Heels (18-11), who fell behind early and spent the rest of the day trying to rally. North Carolina entered the tournament knowing a win would help its NCAA chances, but ended up with its first opening-game exit in 14 years.
It was an unusually early meeting spot for the two programs considering their standing among the nation’s elite in recent years.
North Carolina had won the only meeting in the regular season, and the Terrapins were coming off a 33-point home loss to Florida State last weekend that coach Brenda Frese said was one of their worst performances of the season. The Tar Heels had lost seven of eight before Sunday’s upset of Duke in a tough, physical game that seemed to give them something positive to build on before heading to Greensboro.
Maryland shot 43 percent.
