Terrapins top Aggies to reach Elite Eight

Maryland’s players didn’t panic when they fell behind by 18 in the first half and trailed by 11 midway through the second.

Laurin Mincy had 21 points and a career-best 12 rebounds to help Maryland (31-4) rally past defending national champion Texas A&M 81-74 on Sunday in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament’s Raleigh (N.C.) Regional.

Alyssa Thomas added 21 points and nine rebounds for the second-seeded Terps, who fought their way back and held the Aggies (24-11) to just one basket over the final 7 1/2 minutes.

(1) Notre Dame 79, (5) St. Bonaventure 35: At Raleigh, N.C., Natalie Novosel scored 16 points and the Irish (33-3) advanced to the regional finals by routing the Bonnies (31-4).

The Irish shot 52.5 percent, never trailed and led by 45 before matching a 22-year-old record for scoring margin in the regional round while cruising into the finals for the second straight year.

Notre Dame will play second-seeded Maryland on Tuesday.

CeCe Dixon had 13 points for the Bonnies.

(1) Connecticut 77, (4) Penn State 59: At Kingston, R.I., Bria Hartley scored 20 points to lead a balanced Connecticut offense and help the top-seeded Huskies (32-4) beat the Lady Lions (26-7) and advance to a regional final for the seventh consecutive season.

The Nittany Lions offense had averaged 87.5 points through the first two games of the NCAA women’s tournament. The Huskies will face No. 2 seed Kentucky on Tuesday night.

Mia Nickson scored 19 points and Maggie Lucas added 15 to lead Penn State.