After battling the Eagles inside, University of South Florida guard Janae Stokes decided to play outside, drilling five 3-pointers to lead the Bulls to an 82-65 victory over Boston College last night in a WNIT semifinal at Conte Forum. South Florida (26-10) kicked off the game in attack mode, scoring the first points on two steals within a minute of each other by freshman guard Jasmine Wynne (19 points). Although BC (23-12) seemed off-balance from the start, the Eagles countered the Bulls' defensive energy by winning the boards, totaling 22 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Boston College’s Stefanie Murphy is reveling in her March moments. The 6-foot-4 sophomore forward from Londonderry, N.H., started a numerically rewarding run during the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and it has carried over in the Eagles’ drive for the Women’s NIT title. BC (23-11) will host South Florida (25-10) in the semifinals tonight at 7 at Conte Forum. If the Eagles prevail, they will hit the road to play the winner of the Illinois State vs. Kansas game on Saturday.

TRENTON, N.J. — - On a day such as this, the most important of the season so far, it seemed appropriate that the players who carried the No. 1 UConn women to this point would carry them one step further. Ask any of the 36 teams the Huskies faced prior to Arizona State who they feared the most. Invariably, the answer would be the same — Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles. On Tuesday afternoon, they were named Associated Press All-Americans. Moore and Montgomery were first team.

USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan was right last week when she wrote that President Obama should have filled out both men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournament bracket sheets. Of course the president has a lot more important things to worry about than a basketball tournament, but if Obama is going to make a big deal about his bracketology, he should have picked both men’s and women’s teams.

MERRIMACK – On Tuesday, as her team prepared for Merrimack High School in the preliminary round of the Class L girls basketball tournament, Nashua South coach Jen Hogan wrote a message on the white board in the team room.

It was Saturday night in Litchfield and, as usual, the town had turned out to support one of its teams, Campbell High School girls basketball, in its quarterfinal showdown with Somersworth. There was the usual Red Sea of student supporters who don't seem to need the large cheerleading squad, Cougar mascot or professional style announcer to tell them when to get fired up.

LITCHFIELD – For three quarters it was a tense defensive struggle, neither team giving an inch and no lead for either team bigger than four points.

MANCHESTER – A month ago in Durham, the Souhegan High School girls basketball team was blown out of the gym by top-ranked Oyster River, 56-28. In Wednesday night's Class I semifinal at Southern New Hampshire University, the Sabers had leads of eight points in each half.

She calls it "the dark place." It was the first year she spent as head women's basketball and softball coach at Rivier College, and between the two sports, Kelly O'Connell enjoyed only eleven wins in time from November to the end of April.

AMHERST – You can play a team too many times in a season. The Souhegan High School girls basketball team learned that in the Class I preliminary round, beating upset minded Hollis/Brookline by a single point in their fourth meeting this season.

Pinkerton (14-2) jumped out to a 35-10 halftime lead as the Astros rolled to a 62-28 win over Bishop Guertin (3-13) in Class L girls' basketball action on Friday in Nashua. Meg Kubit led the Cardinals offense with seven points while Laura Pierce had a game-high 11 points for Pinkerton.

Alvirne's DJ Purcell scored a game-high 15 points but it wasn't enough as Alvirne (7-6) dropped a 47-42 contest to Salem (6-7). Ashley Metivier added 11 for the Broncos.

Sophomore Caitlin Ackerman worked the paint for a game-high 22 points to lead Nashua South (5-8) to a 57-41 home win over Bishop Guertin (2-11). Erin Shannon added 14 points for the Panthers while Meghan Stelmash, Annie Schneider and Meg Kubit each had eight for the Cardinals.

The Wilton-Lyndeborough girls basketball team won for the fifth time in their last six games, knocking off Nute of Milton, 60-24, in a Class S home game.

Danika Rencken turned in a strong performance on both ends of the floor in Hollis/Brookline's 57-37 win over Con-Val in Class I action. Rencken scored 26 points while Kelly Morgan and Kelsey Berry had 11 points each for the Cavaliers (7-9). H/B plays against Bedford at home tonight.

On the basketball court Tiffany Ruffin's game exceeds her age. Though just a sophomore, this point guard has played key roles in helping Winnacunnet of Hampton win back-to-back Class L girls' championship plaques.

In the aftermath of a high school girls' basketball team's 100-0 victory last week in Dallas, Texas, a debate is now raging over whether the coach of the winning squad should have been fired for not apologizing to the losing team.