By Mel Greenberg

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Speed may kill but athleticism can be just as deadly,

The Maryland senior duo of point guard Kristi Toliver and forward Marissa Coleman paid their farewells to the Terrapins’ Comcast Center Tuesday night with one more significant win – a 71-56 triumph over Utah that moved them on to the Sweet 16 in the Raleigh Regional.

Top-seeded Maryland (30-4) will face No. 4 Vanderbilt (26-8) in Raleigh, N.C.

Ninth-seeded Utah (23-10) took an early 15-7 lead before the Terrapins began to control the boards and all other phases of the game the rest of the way.

Maryland’s 25 rebounds alone topped Utah’s overall total by one with Maryland claiming an overwhelming 54-24 advantage.

“It’s pure and simple, really, their strength over us and their physicality,” Utah coach Elaine Elliott said of her team’s disadvantage.

The veteran Utah coach said that factor was more critical than the home advantage of the Terrapins, who attracted 10,065 fans to Maryland’s spacious arena where the Terrapins have been unbeaten for two straight seasons.

Coleman finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds, while Toliver scored 17 points.

The duo, who are likely to be taken quickly in next month’s WNBA draft, began their careers here with an NCAA title their freshman season.

Coleman was non-plussed about her farewell home game but Toliver admitted to being a little misty-eyed.

“I got a little emotional toward the end, knowing that it was the last time I will get to play in front of the best fans in the country,” Toliver said. “So I’m sad, but it’s a great feeling knowing we get to play another game.”

It was Toliver’s three-pointer at the end of regulation in 2006 in Boston that completed a rally from a deep 13-point second half deficit against Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke and sent the game into overtime for Maryland’s eventual national championship..

Toliver even found time during the game to chide ESPN analyst Debbie Antonelli, a former star at North Carolina State, during a timeout.

“I was just joking around because in warm-ups before the last game, she gave me a challenge, and in this game, she didn’t do that,” Toliver related. “So I went over to her and said, `Hey, you could challenge me two days ago and in this game you didn’t challenge me,’ so I said, `What’s the deal?’
“But I was just playing with her because she’s always been one of my favorite announcers.”

Antonelli was a little taken aback by Toliver’s approach, turning to the Guru on the row behind her, saying, “I’ve never had a player do that in all my years in broadcasting.”

Toliver and Coleman weren’t the only statistical stars against the Utes.

Demauria Liles added 12 points and 17 rebounds.

“We talked about it before the game,” Coleman said of the board work by her and Liles. “We said we were going to get every rebound. As a team when we are dominating on the boards, that’s when we are at our best.”

Though on the road, Utah seniors Kalee Whipple and Morgan Warburton were also impressive in their final games – Whipple scored 24 points and Warburton had 17.

Meanwhile, for all the prowess of the Atlantic Coast Conference during the season, Maryland, the regular season co-champion and tournament champion, will be the only representative in the regional semifinals.

The stunner of Tuesday night occurred in East Lansing, Mich., where top-seeded Duke in the Berkeley Regional fell to No. 9 Michigan State, 63-49.

The Spartans (22-10) on Saturday will meet No. 4 Iowa State (26-8) in the Berkeley Regional semifinals. The Wildcats advanced Tuesday night ending No. 12 Ball State’s Cinderella run, 71-57.

The Cardinal dispatched No. 5 Tennessee in the opening round making it the earliest exit for the Vols, the two-time defending champion.

“We’re extremely disappointed,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said of Maryland being the only ACC team still alive. “But we are going to do our best and finest job we can to represent the league.”

The Trenton regional is all set after No. 1 Connecticut (35-0) added Florida to the Huskies’ victims list, beating the Gators, 87-59. Renee Montgomery had another outstanding performance in her final game in Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, scoring 25 points.

UConn will play No. 4 California (27-6).

UConn will play No. 4 California on Sunday in the Sovereign Bank Arena, while No. 2 Texas A&M (27-7) beat Minnesota, 73-42, in South Bend, Ind., on Notre Dame’s campus Tuesday night to advance against No. 6 Arizona State (25-8).

--- Mel