No. 4 Maryland 74, Virginia Tech 71

2/4/2008 9:46 PM

By SUE LINDSEY
Associated Press Writer

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -Down 21 points in the first half, Maryland's upperclassmen took over.

Kristi Toliver scored 28 points and No. 5 Maryland rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat Virginia Tech 74-71 in overtime Monday night.

Crystal Langhorne scored 19 points and had 16 rebounds for the Terrapins (24-2, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Marissa Coleman had 17 points, and Laura Harper had eight points and 12 rebounds.

``We just stayed composed and battled back,'' Maryland assistant coach Daron Park said. ``I think you saw what a special group of upperclassmen we have.''

Toliver and Coleman are juniors, while Langhorne and Harper are seniors.

Brittany Cook led the Hokies (13-10, 0-8) with 26 points and 14 rebounds, and Andrea Barbour had 24 points.

The Terrapins, plagued by 25 turnovers, took the lead for the first time when Harper's layup made it 66-64 with 3:12 left in overtime. Langhorne then hit a layup, and Maryland held on for the win.

A 3-pointer by Cook with 3 seconds left made it 72-71, but Toliver was then fouled by Barbour and hit both of her free throws.

The Hokies scored the first 11 points and led by as much as 21 in the first half, taking a 31-10 lead on a basket by Laura Haskins with 10:13 left.

``It was the biggest natural high,'' Cook said. ``We came out on fire.''

Virginia Tech coach Beth Dunkenberger said the Hokies ``took a huge step'' that she hoped they can build on.

``They came out extremely inspired,'' Toliver said. ``Playing against us, we get everybody's best shot.''

Maryland cut the deficit to 39-29 at intermission, but didn't tie the score until late in the second half. The Terrapins made it 60-all with 2:54 left on Langhorne's layup after Coleman hit a 3-pointer and a layup.

The Hokies had 17 steals, 11 of them in the first half. They shot 35 percent to 46 percent for Maryland.

Maryland had rallied early in the season from 16 down to beat UCLA 79-75.

This was the ninth meeting between the two teams. Virginia Tech leads the series 5-4 and last won in 2005.