March 17, 2001

By DONNA TOMMELLEO
AP Sports Writer

STORRS, Conn. - Heather Haanen made a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 21 points to lead Colorado State to an 83-69 victory over Maryland on Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The ninth-seeded Rams (25-6) will play No. 1 seed Connecticut on Monday.

Elizabeth English had 16 points for the Rams and was 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Colorado State made 14 3-pointers to tie a school best. The Rams are 10th in the nation for 3-pointers, making an average of seven a game.

Deedee Warley led the eighth-seeded Terrapins (17-12) with 21 points. She went out briefly late in the second half after injuring her back going for a rebound, but returned to play the final four minutes.

Colorado State was up 39-35 at the break and opened the second half with four straight 3-pointers and quickly extended the lead to 51-42. The Rams had eight 3-pointers in the second half and led by as much as 15.

Maryland would get no closer than 10.

The Terps held the lead briefly twice in the first half and were up by no more than three points. Angie Gorton's layup with 8:38 left in the first half put the Rams up for good at 23-22.

It was the first meeting between the schools.

The Rams are making their eighth appearance in the tournament and won the Mountain West conference title to earn an automatic bid.

The Terrapins are two years removed from their worst season ever at 6-21, made their 12th appearance in the tournament. Marche Strickland had 15 points for Maryland.