Maryland hands Mississippi State its first loss

Kristi Toliver had 24 points and eight assists in her return from a one-game suspension as No. 14 Maryland beat Mississippi State, 80-73, yesterday in the final of the Terrapin Classic in College Park, Md.

It was the Bulldogs' first defeat of the season.

Demauria Liles and Marah Strickland scored 16 points apiece for the Terrapins (11-2). They have won four straight and 11 of 12.

Alexis Rack led Mississippi State (11-1) with 24 points.

The Bulldogs' 11-0 start matched the best in school history. They have dropped eight consecutive games to ranked opponents.

Toliver sat out Monday's semifinal victory over UNC-Asheville for violating a team rule.

Texas A&M 83, New Mexico 53 - Danielle Gant scored 27 points and Takia Starks added 25 to lead the No. 3 Aggies (11-0) to an lopsided win over the No. 25 Lobos in College Station, Texas.

New Mexico (11-2) led by 7-6 before the Aggies scored the next 16 points.

The Aggies won by their largest margin (32) against a ranked opponent in school history.

Louisville 82, New Hampshire 40 - After missing all nine of her shots in a win Monday, Louisville star Angel McCoughtry had 14 points as the No. 10 Cardinals (13-1) rolled by the Wildcats (2-10) in the final game of the Cardinal Classic.

Candace Williams led New Hampshire with 17 points, but the Wildcats shot just 29 percent from the floor and turned it over 23 times.

Lehigh 53, La Salle 49 - Morgan Robertson scored 18 points and Ashley Gale added 17, but the Explorers (8-6) fell to the Mountain Hawks (10-3) in the championship of Lehigh's Christmas City tournament in Bethlehem, Pa.

Elsewhere: Second-ranked North Carolina blasted Austin Peay, 93-61, at home in Chapel Hill. . . . Angie Bjorklund had a triumphant homecoming with 14 points to help lead No. 8 Tennessee past Gonzaga, 77-58, in Spokane, Wash. - the community where she was a high school star. . . . No. 9 Auburn won its 14th in a row, defeating host Miami by 68-53.

Courtney Paris had her 104th consecutive double-double as No. 5 Oklahoma routed host St. Louis, 87-61. . . . Jacqua Williams led four Georgia Tech players in double figures with 16 points as the No. 23 Yellow Jackets routed Florida A&M, 77-42, in Atlanta. . . . No. 19 Pittsburgh dismantled Western Kentucky, 93-50, at home.

Catherine Carr had 17 points and 11 rebounds for host Holy Family in a 68-50 win over Southern Connecticut.