Rutgers bounces Duke by one; Bowling Green is ousted by Arizona State

The top-seeded Blue Devils finish 32-2.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Duke's free-throw failure in the final second sent Rutgers to the regional finals.
Epiphanny Prince went coast-to-coast for the go-ahead layup with 20 seconds left and Duke's Lindsey Harding missed two free throws with 0.1 seconds left, preserving fourth-seeded Rutgers' 53-52 upset of the top-seeded Blue Devils Saturday in the semifinals of the Greensboro Regional.
Harding could have given the Blue Devils (32-2) the win -- or at least forced overtime -- when she stole an inbounds pass near midcourt, drove hard to the basket and was fouled by Myia McCurdy.
The ACC player of the year missed both free throws hard off the back iron, and Carrem Gay's tipback as the horn sounded failed to come close. Harding fell to her back and covered her face, while the Scarlet Knights (25-8) celebrated at midcourt.
Matee Ajavon had 20 points for Rutgers, which advanced to face Arizona State (31-4) on Monday night with a berth in the Final Four on the line. The Scarlet Knights will make their second appearance in the round of eight since 2005, and they did it by denying the Blue Devils their sixth straight berth in the regional finals.
Late lead lost
Duke led 52-48 entering the final minute before Ajavon started the rally with a 3-pointer with 48.5 seconds left.
The Blue Devils worked the ball around to center Alison Bales, who missed a long jumper, and the rebound was ripped from Wanisha Smith's hands by Prince, who went the length of the floor and hit a layup over Harding -- the Atlantic Coast Conference's defensive player of the year -- to put Rutgers ahead to stay.
Duke brought the ball downcourt before Essence Carson stole the ball from Harding, and the Blue Devils fouled her with 5.6 seconds left before Harding came up with the steal on the subsequent inbounds pass.
Bales finished her Duke career by matching her season high of 21 points, and she blocked four shots but fell one shy of the NCAA single-season record of 152. Gay added 10 points for the Blue Devils, whose two losses this season have come at the Greensboro Coliseum. They previously were upset three weeks earlier by North Carolina State in the semifinals of the ACC tournament.
Rutgers -- which has five freshmen and no seniors on the roster -- shot 57 percent in the second half and was determined to avenge an 85-45 loss to Duke three months earlier. It was the most lopsided defeat in coach C. Vivian Stringer's 11 seasons with the Scarlet Knights.
Duke blew a 10-point lead early in the second half, while Rutgers clawed back and twice tied it before rallying in the final moments.
Arizona State 67,Bowling Green 49
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Arizona State finally got the chance to protect a lead in the NCAA tournament.
After rallying from 15-point deficits in each of the first two rounds, the Sun Devils got 16 points from last-minute starter Danielle Orsillo and led nearly the entire way to beat Bowling Green.
The win gave third-seeded Arizona State (31-4) its first trip to the round of eight.
Emily Westerberg added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Sun Devils, who picked a good time to turn in their steadiest performance of the tournament. Arizona State shot 51 percent, took a 37-24 rebounding advantage and scored 16 points off turnovers to end the seventh-seeded Falcons' surprise tournament run.
Orsillo's big day made sure the Sun Devils didn't miss sidelined starter Briann January, the team's second-leading scorer who was a game-time scratch because of a concussion suffered in the second-round win against Louisville. Orsillo came in averaging 9.7 points with two starts this season, but she hit her first six shots and finished 7-for-12.
Ali Mann scored 15 points to lead Bowling Green (31-4), which upset No. 2 seed Vanderbilt in the second round to become the first team from the Mid-American Conference to reach the round of 16.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.