Crystal Langhorne scored 24 points for Maryland.

March 7, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -Laura Harper scored 15 of her 25 points after halftime Friday night to help fifth-ranked Maryland beat Boston College 93-81 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Crystal Langhorne had 24 points for the second-seeded Terrapins (30-2), who reached the semifinals for the fifth straight year. Maryland will face the winner of Friday's last quarterfinal game between No. 12 Duke and Florida State, as it tries to return to the championship for the second time in three seasons.

Mickel Picco had a career-high 33 points for the seventh-seeded Eagles (20-11), who fell to 1-3 in the tournament since joining the league before the 2005-06 season. Boston College earned its first tourney win against Virginia Tech in Thursday's first round.

Maryland got off to a fast start thanks to Langhorne, who had 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting, while Marissa Coleman had nine points during an 18-5 run to close the first half that gave the Terrapins a 48-29 lead at the break. That lead held up, though the pesky Eagles wouldn't go away and twice closed the margin to nine points in the final 4 minutes.

Harper, a 6-foot-4 senior, eventually closed the door on BC. With her team holding an 83-74 lead, Harper knocked down two free throws followed by a contested jumper that pushed the margin to 13 points with 2:21 left to essentially end the game.

Harper finished 8-for-8 from the field and 9-of-10 from the foul line, while Langhorne - the ACC player of the year - went 11-for-13 while pulling down seven rebounds. With its front line scoring efficiently, Maryland shot 57 percent for the game and also took a 33-17 rebounding advantage.

The Terrapins needed every bit of that hot shooting, too. Boston College shot 56 percent, including 11-for-19 from 3-point range. Picco, a 5-8 sophomore, finished 13-for-19 from the floor and 7-for-11 from 3-point range to cause problems for Maryland the entire game.