N.C. State posts upset of No. 1 Duke

Kay Yow left the North Carolina State team to fight cancer. She came back for moments like these.

The 24th-ranked Wolfpack spoiled No. 1 Duke’s perfect season on Saturday in Greensboro, N.C., giving the Hall of Fame coach a post-comeback victory with a 70-65 win over the Blue Devils in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

“This emotion lifts me up,” Yow said. “I feel stronger with this. … We’ve got to keep going. This is no time to stop.”

Ashley Key hit the go-ahead jumper with 1:19 remaining for N.C. State, which has won 10 of 11 since Yow returned from a two-month leave to fight a recurrence of breast cancer.

“I’m not an emotional person, but a couple drips fell today,” Key said. “I think it’s an amazing win for an amazing coach and an amazing program.”

Key’s jumper from the left wing made it 66-65. Duke then worked the ball inside to center Alison Bales, who missed a layup.

Sasha Reaves made two free throws with 18 seconds remaining to push the lead to three points, and Abby Waner’s potential game-tying 3-pointer from the top of the key failed to hit the rim with about 9 seconds left, and Key hit two free throws with 7 seconds remaining to seal Duke’s first loss since last year’s title game against Maryland.

Key finished with 21 points for the fourth-seeded Wolfpack (23-8), who reached the ACC finals for the first time since 2001.

The Wolfpack will play in the final Sunday against No. 4 North Carolina, which beat No. 6 Maryland 78-72 in the other semifinal.

(11) LSU 63, (2) Tennessee 54: At Duluth, Ga., Sylvia Fowles scored 19 points with 20 rebounds and LSU held Tennessee star Candace Parker to four points to lead the Lady Tigers (26-6) to a win over the Lady Vols (28-3) in a Southeastern Conference tournament semifinal.

Tennessee won the regular-season Southeastern Conference title with a 14-0 mark.

(4) North Carolina 78, (6) Maryland 72: At Greensboro, N.C., LaToya Pringle hit the go-ahead basket with 1:36 left and Ivory Latta scored 19 points to lead the Tar Heels (29-3) past the Terrapins (27-5) in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals.

Pringle finished with 11 points and four blocks for the second-seeded Tar Heels, who advanced to the championship game for the sixth straight season.

(8) George Washington 61, Dayton 45: At Cincinnati, Jessica Adair set the tone with her inside scoring and emphatic shot blocking and the Colonials (26-2) got the victory over the Flyers (12-19) in the Atlantic 10 tournament quarterfinals.

(13) Vanderbilt 81, (10) Georgia 56: At Duluth, Ga., Christina Wirth scored 21 points to lead the Commodores (26-5) past the Bulldogs (25-6) and into the next round of the Southeastern Conference championship.

(17) Middle Tennessee 79, South Alabama 52: At Lafayette, La., Chrissy Givens scored 24 points to lead the Blue Raiders (27-3) to a win over the Jaguars (14-16) in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

(20) Louisville 68, St. John’s 54: At Hartford, Conn., Angel McCoughtry had 15 points and the Cardinals (25-6) defeated the Red Storm (15-14) in the Big East tournament.

Ohio Valley Conference

Southeast Missouri 62, Murray State 60: At Nashville, Tenn., Lachelle Lyles’ layup with 6.5 seconds left lifted the Redhawks (24-7) to a victory over the Lady Racers (21-9) to earn an NCAA tournament bid in the championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball tournament.

Southern Conference

Chattanooga 84, Western Carolina 66: At North Charleston, S.C., Alex Anderson scored 30 points and the Lady Mocs (25-7) defeated the Lady Catamounts (23-8) to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.