Vols give Summitt her 900th victory

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee coach Pat Summitt didn't have to wait long to get her 900th career victory.

Shanna Zolman led five Lady Vols in double figures with 16 points, and top-ranked Tennessee rallied from its biggest deficit this season in beating No. 19 Vanderbilt, 80-68 on Thursday night, giving Summitt her 900th win in her first shot at the milestone.

Tennessee (18-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) had never gone through a first half without leading at least once until this game, and the Lady Vols trailed by 14 late in the half.

But the crowd of 13,127 fans with lots of Tennessee orange got to serenade Summitt by chanting "9-0-0" in the final minute as the Lady Vols won for the 10th consecutive time in the series.

Vanderbilt (13-5, 2-2) looked ready to end that skid and get its first victory against the Lady Vols since Feb. 2, 2002. But as well as the Commodores shot, they couldn't stop Tennessee from turning their turnovers into 25 points.

NO. 2 DUKE 77,

NORTH CAROLINA STATE 57

In Durham, N.C., Monique Currie scored 20 points to lead Duke past North Carolina State.

Chante Black added 11 points while Lindsey Harding had 10 for the Blue Devils (18-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their final game before hosting top-ranked Tennessee on Monday. The Blue Devils have won 17 of 20 meetings against N.C. State, including the past nine, and haven't lost at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the series in a decade.

Billie McDowell scored 14 points for the Wolfpack (11-6, 2-3), who fell behind by as many as 16 points in the first half.

NO. 7 OHIO STATE 60, INDIANA 50

In Columbus, Ohio, Debbie Merrill had nine points and 10 rebounds and patrolled the inside on defense to lead Ohio State to a victory over Indiana.

Brandie Hoskins scored 12 points and Marscilla Packer had 11 for the Buckeyes (14-2, 5-1 Big Ten), who won their fifth in a row and eighth in nine games.

Merrill also had four blocked shots and three assists in an all-around effort that stood out in a defensive struggle.

NO. 11 PURDUE 70, PENN STATE 56

In West Lafayette, Ind., Katie Gearlds tied a season-high with 28 points to lead Purdue to its 10th consecutive win.

The junior guard shot 12-for-15 from the field and finished just two points short of reaching 1,000 for her career.

Aya Traore and Erin Lawless added 11 points apiece for the Boilermakers (14-2, 6-0 Big Ten).

Kamela Gissendanner had 22 points and Amanda Brown added 14 for Penn State (7-10, 1-5), which has lost five of its last six.

Purdue forced Penn State into 28 turnovers, and made its first five shots to take an 11-5 lead, forcing the Nittany Lions to take a timeout less than 3 minutes into the game.

Gearlds made a driving layup in the closing seconds of the first half to give Purdue a 38-21 lead at the break. She scored 16 points and Lawless added nine for Purdue in the opening period.

Penn State started the second half on a 6-2 run that cut Purdue's lead to 40-27. After a timeout, Purdue responded with a 6-0 run. The Boilermakers' largest lead was 21 points in the second half.

WAKE FOREST 77,

NO. 18 VIRGINIA TECH 71 (OT)

In Winston-Salem, N.C., Wake Forest overcame a slow start in the first half and beat Virginia Tech in overtime, its first win over a ranked opponent in more than a year.

Cotelia Bond-Young scored 22 points for the Demon Deacons (10-6, 2-2 ACC), including a short jumper with 2 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 67-67.

The senior guard then scored on a backdoor layup 15 seconds into the extra period to put Wake Forest in the lead for the rest of the game.

MIAMI 82, NO. 22 BOSTON COLLEGE 68

In Coral Gables, Fla., amara James scored 25 points to lead Miami to a victory over Boston College.

The Hurricanes scored the first 11 points in the second half to open a 45-31 lead. James' 3-point play with 17:41 remaining in the game ended the spurt and capped a 25-3 run, which began in the final 3:06 of the first half.

The Eagles, who lost their fourth consecutive game, got no closer than Lisa Macchia's 3-point play, cutting Miami's lead to 53-46 with 10:37 remaining in the in the game. Macchia finished 9-for-9 from the field and led Boston College (12-6, 0-4) with 19 points.

Renee Taylor scored 21 points for Miami, which improved to 13-4 and 3-1 in the ACC.

James scored eight points, including two 3-pointers, during a 12-0 run late in the first half as the Hurricanes overcame a 28-20 deficit.

James' second 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining gave Miami its first lead of the game 30-28.