Lady Vols Put an End to Marist's Story; Ole Miss Eliminates Paris's Sooners

DAYTON, Ohio — Marist fans held signs that read "Believe." Candace Parker and top-seeded Tennessee were simply unbelievable.

Parker hit her first eight shots and the Lady Vols used a 14–0 firsthalf run to take control, ending Marist's great tournament run with a 65–46 victory yesterday in the NCAA Dayton Regional semifinals.

Parker roamed the lane, frequently leaping over the smaller Red Foxes, for 16 points. Shannon Bobbitt and Sidney Spencer each had 11 for Tennessee (31–3), which improved its record to 22–4 in regional semifinals. The Lady Vols, a part of all 26 NCAA tournaments, ran their record to 95–19 in the tournament.

Meg Dahlman had 16 points and Rachele Fitz 13 for Marist (29–6), which had never won an NCAA tournament game until last weekend. The Red Foxes stunned fourth-seeded Ohio State 67-63 in the first round and fifth-seeded Middle Tennessee 73-59 in the second round, ending the Blue Raiders' 27-game winning streak.

The 4,000-student school in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was just the third no. 13 seed to make it to the round of 16 in NCAA history.

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MISSISSIPPI 90, OKLAHOMA 82 Mississippi's frantic and frenetic defense sure bothered Courtney Paris and Oklahoma.

Next up, the surprising Rebels will try to run top-seeded Tennessee out of the tournament.

Armintie Price scored 31 points and Ashley Awkward added 25 for Ole Miss, which fastbreaked and trapped its way to a 90-82 win over Oklahoma on Sunday in the Dayton Regional.

The Rebels (24-10) will face the Lady Vols on Tuesday night.

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PURDUE 78, GEORGIA 65 Katie Gearlds extended her career at Purdue and now has a chance to finally make it to the NCAA Final Four.

Not wanting her career to end yet, Gearlds had 30 points, nine rebounds and helped Purdue overcome a big early deficit to beat Georgia 78–65 last night.