LSU, Stanford reach Final Four

LSU coach Van Chancellor can thank Sylvia Fowles for his first trip to a Final Four.

Fowles had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, lifting LSU to a 56-50 victory over top-seeded North Carolina on Monday night in New Orleans. The victory sent the second-seeded Lady Tigers (31-5) to their fifth Final Four in as many seasons.

"We knew it was our last year and we wanted to go all out," said Fowles, named the most outstanding player of the New Orleans regional.

For North Carolina (33-3), forced to play before a hostile crowd wearing purple and gold, the loss snapped a 16-game winning streak and left the Tar Heels 1 victory short of a third straight Final Four appearance.

LaToya Pringle led the Tar Heels with 21 points. Rashanda McCants scored 9 and Jessica Breland added 8.

"Defense has been our bread and butter all year," Fowles said. "We knew if we came out here and played defense our offense would pick up. We've played great defense the last few years."

Quianna Chaney scored 13 points for LSU, hitting three 3-pointers and Erica White finished with 8 points.

Stanford 98, Maryland 87: Candice Wiggins checked off the one accomplishment missing in her career at Stanford -- getting the Cardinal back to the Final Four.

The three-time Pac-10 player of the year, Wiggins scored 41 points, and got some help from unlikely sources as the second-seeded Cardinal pulled away from No. 1 seed Maryland in Spokane, Wash.

The Cardinal is back in the Final Four for the first time in 11 years. Stanford will face either Connecticut or Rutgers in the semifinals.

Wiggins' teammate JJ Hones scored a career-high 23 points and Kayla Pedersen added 15 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds as the duo made up for a night where Jayne Appel, Stanford's second leading scorer, was held in check and scored just 11.

Meanwhile, the Terrapins (33-4) failed in their attempt to reach the Final Four two years after winning their only national title. Kristi Toliver led Maryland with a career-high 35 points.