Mistie Williams leads Duke to blowout win

LSU's Seimone Augustus was shut out in the first half.
By JIMMY GOLEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON -- Duke shut down the smoothest scorer in women's college basketball, blowing LSU away Sunday night to set up an all-ACC matchup for the NCAA title.
Mistie Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead Duke to a 64-45 victory over LSU in the NCAA tournament semifinal.
Two-time Associated Press player of the year Seimone Augustus was scoreless in the first half but still finished with 14 points to lead the Lady Tigers.
"It was a team effort defensively," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "And it really takes a team to defend Seimone Augustus."
Title game
The Blue Devils (31-3) advanced to the championship game to play Maryland, which beat North Carolina 81-70 in the earlier game.
Duke went 2-1 against the Terrapins during the season, losing in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
LSU (31-4) was just the seventh school to place its men's and women's teams in the Final Four in the same season. But, like the women, the men were blown out in the national semifinals, losing 59-45 to UCLA on Saturday.
Duke's men were also a disappointment, finishing the season atop the AP poll before losing to LSU in the round of 16.
But at least they still have a chance to hang another banner from the rafters at Cameron Indoor Stadium -- a first for the women, to go with the three won by Mike Krzyzewski's teams.
Off night
One night after her playground playmate, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, shot 29 percent in the LSU loss, Augustus went without a point or rebound in the first half.
The repeat winner of the Associated Press player of the year -- and the nation's leading scorer with 23 points per game -- she did not score until 17:39 remained in the game.
"That's not the motion offense that got us here," Augustus said.
She was held to 6-for-18 shooting. LSU's previous three losses this season were by a total of five points.
Duke led 18-4 before the Lady Tigers awoke.
Florence Williams made a jumper, and three LSU free throws later she made another. Williams then grabbed the rebound of Augustus' miss and passed to Sylvia Fowles for a layup that made it 18-13 with 4:42 left in the first.
Duke scored eight of the next 10 points, and the last five of the half, to make it 26-15.
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