Fifth-ranked St. Frances hit 10 of 11 free throws in the final minute and a half to hold off No. 18 Roland Park for a 66-57 victory in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference tournament quarterfinal yesterday at the College of Notre Dame.
LaTonya Blue scored six of her 25 points during the foul-shooting stretch as the Panthers (22-3) extended a 56-51 lead as high as 64-51.
A year ago, the Reds (13-12) upset St. Frances in the quarterfinals and they ran up an early 20-12 lead sparked by three Molly Frew 20-footers.
The Panthers, however, pulled ahead for good, 29-25, with a 9-0 second-quarter run in which Blue hit two 20-footers, nailed a short jumper and fed Kia Coady for another basket.
After the half, the Panthers put together an 11-0 run to extend their lead to 43-31 before the Reds began chipping away at their lead. Each time the Reds threatened, the Panthers had an answer.
Blue, who scored 10 in the fourth quarter, also finished with nine assists while teammate Brooke Campbell scored 15. Dani Kell led the Reds with 18.
The Panthers will play host to No. 11 Archbishop Spalding in tomorrow's 6:45 p.m. semifinal at the college.
No. 3 Seton Keough 70, No. 12 Mercy 42: Gen Olds tied a school record with seven three-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points to lead the defending champion Gators (22-4) past the visiting Magic in an A Conference quarterfinal.
Jackie Valderas scored 16 and grabbed 19 rebounds and Keisha Blackwell added 14 points for the Gators. B.J. Banjo scored 32 for the Magic (16-11).
The Gators, who hit 13 of 33 three-pointers, will play host to St. Mary's in tomorrow's 4 p.m. semifinal.
No. 11 Archbishop Spalding 52, No. 16 McDonogh 42: LaToya Strong scored 18 and Kylie Bestul added 12 as the Cavaliers (17-10) won their A Conference quarterfinal. Camrell Gholston led the visiting Eagles (13-9) with 13 points and Katie Nelson added 11.
St. Mary's 48, No. 13 John Carroll 38: The Saints scored their second upset in two days as they knocked off the Patriots (14-10) on the road. Lauren Bonnani led the Saints with 14 points.
The Saints' defense also did the job in the A Conference quarterfinal, using a box-and-one to hold Patriots top scorer Kristen Jasper to eight points, well off her 14-point average.
The Saints (10-16) upset No. 19 Institute of Notre Dame, 35-27, in Monday's first round.
No. 6 Southern-B boys 60, No. 12 Walbrook 55: Melvin Scott hit a jump shot with 1:30 left to give the Bulldogs the lead for good, 55-54. He and Shawn Brown each hit two free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory. Scott finished with 19 points and teammate Darshan Luckey had 14. Walbrook's Davon Haskins led all scorers with 24 points.