by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Crystal Langhorne ended Sophia Young's brilliant college career and helped assure that there will be a new champion in women's basketball.
Langhorne scored 34 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the University of Maryland knocked off defending champion Baylor University 82-63 Saturday at The Pit in the Sweet 16 game on Saturday. Maryland advances to the Elite Eight round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament to face the University of Utah on Monday in The Pit.
Baylor's Young - who was named the 2005 NCAA Player of the Year - finished with 26 points, but could not match Langhorne.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
While the senior Young said she was disappointed with the loss, she was quick to give credit to Langhorne and the Terrapins.
"She's a good post player, and she has good post moves," Young said. "I think the fact that she has multiple moves, that makes her difficult to guard."
Maryland took control of the game from tip-off, jumping out to a 14-2 lead. Langhorne did most of the damage, scoring 10 of the first 14 points. Langhorne is the type of player that defenses usually pay special attention to, but Langhorne said she had an advantage because they let one player guard her most of the game.
"They were playing me one-on-one, and my teammates were just getting me the ball," she said. "I get really excited when I get put one-on-one because I'm so used to getting doubled."
One of the keys to the victory was Langhorne's efficiency. Though her 34 points were a huge chunk of the offense, she scored them on 14-of-18 shooting. Langhorne was also a difference maker on the defensive end, helping disrupt Young's night as she finished with an 11-of-25 shooting performance.
Baylor struggled shooting as a team, shooting just 33 percent from the field, compared to the 50 percent of Maryland. Though a majority of its points came in the paint, Maryland was also effective from beyond the arc, connecting on 5-of-10 three-point attempts.
Baylor was able to make a run late in the first half, tying the game at 27 with 4:01 remaining. However, Maryland went on an 8-1 run to close the half, highlighted by Langhorne's buzzer beater under the basket.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson said that stretch took some of the air out of her team.
"It took the momentum away," Mulkey-Robertson said. "That kind of deflates your bubble a little bit."
Maryland opened the second half with the same intensity as they did in the first half, opening a 42-28 lead with 17:40 to go. This time, Baylor was unable to make a run against the tenacious play of Langhorne and company.
Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said the victory over the Lady Bears is a huge confidence boost for the rest of the tournament and was impressed with the effort of her team.
"I am so proud of this team," she said. "They were hungry, they wanted this win. It's just amazing to know that we just beat the defending national champion."
