LSU wallops Liberty; Duke ousts Georgia

The Tigers' 42-point margin of victory was two short of the record, which was set in 1990.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- LSU showed again why it is good to be the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Lady Tigers posted their third straight blowout victory against an overmatched opponent, this time beating 13th-seeded Liberty 90-48 Saturday to reach the Chattanooga Regional final.
The 42-point margin of victory was the second-largest in regional semifinal history, behind Louisiana Tech's 44-point win over Purdue in 1990.
"We're competing. That's not to take away from our opponents. We're doing everything well, and it shows the caliber of our team," said point guard Temeka Johnson, who had 12 points and 15 assists.
Top scorers
All-American Seimone Augustus and Scholanda Hoston each scored 22 points to help the Lady Tigers end Liberty's amazing tournament run. Freshman Sylvia Fowles had 10 points for LSU (32-2), trying to reach the Final Four for the second straight year.
The Lady Tigers will face second-seeded Duke (31-4) on Monday in the regional final. They have outscored their first three opponents 236-127.
The Lady Flames (26-7), making their ninth appearance in the tournament, become only the second No. 13 seed to reach the regional semifinals after notching their first two NCAA tourney wins.
Thanks to a smothering defense that shut down dominant 6-foot-8 center Katie Feenstra, LSU jumped out to a quick 17-0 lead.
Duke 63, Georgia 57
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Opposing defenses worry about Monique Currie's offense. But they should also be concerned with the Duke All-American's rebounding.
Currie and Mistie Williams led the Blue Devils' attack of the boards, a key in their victory over Georgia.
Currie finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, nine on the defensive end. Mistie Williams added 14 points and 13 rebounds while Wanisha Smith and Alison Bales each had 10 points.
Duke out-rebounded the Lady Bulldogs 45-32, scoring 16 points off putbacks.
"That's something we've focused on all year," Currie said. "I was in the right place at the right time most of the times."
After getting the most attention from Georgia's defense, Currie also sank four free throws in the final 26 seconds to seal the win.
"I said, 'You know Monique is our All-American. Let's go through her,' " Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said of her team's strategy in the end.
The No. 6 seed Lady Bulldogs (24-10) were trying to advance to the regional final for the 11th time by building on the momentum from their upset over third-seeded Texas in the second round. But the Blue Devils had other plans.
Duke is in the final eight for the sixth time with hopes of getting to the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
Graduating junior
Currie, who is a junior but will graduate this spring, hasn't decided whether she will stay for her senior season. She has said how far the Blue Devils go in the tournament could determine her course.
As expected, the game was close most of the way. Neither team shot well from the floor, so rebounding missed shots was helpful. Both teams shot below 40 percent from the field for the game.
"We knew that the team that rebounded would win, and I was happy with our effort on the boards," Goestenkors said.
Duke was ahead by five with 6:21 remaining, but Georgia cut it to two twice before finally tying it at 54 on Tasha Humphrey's putback with 3:04 to go.
Jessica Foley and Williams scored around two missed free throws by the Lady Bulldogs to put Duke ahead for good.