North Carolina advances to 2nd straight women's Sweet 16 with 74-66 win over Maryland
CHAPEL HILL, N. C. (AP) — Elina Aarnisalo had 21 points, Lanie Grant scored 20 and North Carolina used a strong fourth quarter to beat Maryland 74-66 on Sunday and reach the women's Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.
Nyla Harris had 14 points and eight rebounds and Indya Nivar added 11 points to help the fourth-seeded Tar Heels (28-7) advance in the Fort Worth 1 Regional. Oluchi Okananwa, who helped eliminate North Carolina last March in the Sweet 16 when she played for Duke, scored 21 points for No. 5 seed Maryland (24-9).
Addi Mack had 13 points and Mir McLean had 12 points and 14 rebounds. The Terrapins couldn’t overcome 3-for-23 shooting on 3-pointers. After briefly falling behind, the Tar Heels used a 13-4 run, sparked by six points from Nivar, early in the fourth quarter for a 63-56 lead.
Maryland pulled within three in the final two minutes, but Nyla Brooks drained a 3-pointer from in front of the North Carolina bench. The Terrapins failed to convert as part of 30. 6% shooting in the second half.
North Carolina took a 42-33 halftime lead, shooting 56. 7% in the half. Nivar picked up her fourth foul with 7:06 left in the third quarter.