ALBUQUERQUE — Maryland got dragged into the first overtime of the NCAA women's basketball tournament. Not that it cared.
"Overtime is our time. I didn't worry about it," said Kristi Toliver, who made just about everything she put up in second-seeded Maryland's 75-65 overtime victory over fifth-seeded Utah on Monday night.
Toliver set career highs with 28 points and six three-pointers and Crystal Langhorne added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins, who are headed to the Final Four for the first time since 1989 and play Sunday against the winner of the Cleveland Regional final between North Carolina and Tennessee.
"Our confidence in overtime is out of this world," said Laura Harper, who scored six points in overtime.
"I think everybody on this team knew we'd be flying through the overtime."
Maryland (32-4) improved to 5-0 in overtime games this season but it was hardly easy, not with the Utes (27-7) putting up a fight.
Kim Smith had 17 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Mountain West Conference champions, and Shona Thorburn scored 10 points after missing the last five minutes of the first half because of an ankle injury. But Thorburn, a 71% free-throw shooter, also missed a golden opportunity. With 7.8 seconds to go in regulation, she made only one of two from the line, when she could have sent Utah to its first Final Four by making both.
