BERKELEY, Calif. — When two of the nation's best post players collided, Jayne Appel came up a whole lot bigger — and Stanford's 6-foot-4 junior center is the largest reason her Cardinal are one victory away from a second straight trip to the Final Four.

Appel had 25 points and 11 rebounds while dominating her low-post showdown with Ohio State's Jantel Lavender, leading Stanford on a remarkable late run to finish its 84-66 victory last night in the Berkeley Regional semifinals.

Appel and Lavender are their respective conferences' players of the year, and their talented teammates look to them for both inspiration and big baskets.

Appel, the junior with neon-pink fingernails and an endless array of low-post moves, provided more of both, keeping Stanford safe from another disappointing NCAA tournament loss in its home Bay Area.

"I thought the difference was Jayne in the second half," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "We went to her, and she delivered. She struggled a little bit in the first half, didn't finish some shots that she normally does. In the second half, she really showed great confidence, great poise, and just put the team on her back."

Jillian Harmon had 16 points, six assists and countless hustle plays including four steals for the Cardinal (32-4), while Nnemkadi Ogwumike added 15 points in their 19th consecutive victory.

Harmon, Ogwumike and Appel scored 41 of the Cardinal's 47 second-half points — but Appel's combination of brute force and delicate footwork counteracted Stanford's lack of balance. She hit just three shots in the first half, but came back with 18 points after halftime.

"I came out after halftime, and I believe every person on the team said something to me or gave me a high-five," Appel said. "I had to keep playing for them."

Lavender had 15 points and seven rebounds while battling foul trouble for the Buckeyes (29-6), who fell just shy of Ohio State's first regional final since 1993.

Stanford took its first significant lead midway through the second half, going up 53-42 with a 10-2 run just before Lavender went to the bench with her fourth foul. Lavender missed more than 6 minutes before returning with 6:52 to play.

IOWA STATE 69, MICHIGAN STATE 68

Alison Lacey hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 27.5 seconds left to cap a game-ending 8-0 run as the fourth-seeded Cyclones (27-8) beat the ninth-seeded Spartans (22-11) to reach the regional finals for just the second time in school history.

"When I got the ball, I thought 'Should I shoot?' " said Lacey. "Then I said just do it and see what happens."

With a comeback for the ages, this year's Cyclones squad joins the 1999 version that was honored earlier this year as the only ones to go this far in the women's tournament.

The Cyclones overcame an early nine-point deficit by going on a 15-6 run behind 10 points from Lacey and took a 38-36 halftime lead.

RALEIGH REGIONAL

At Raleigh, N.C.

MARYLAND 78, VANDERBILT 74

Senior Marissa Coleman scored a career-high 42 points, including the go-ahead basket with 27.9 seconds left, as the top-seeded Terrapins (31-4) used a late 15-3 run to erase an 11-point deficit to beat the fourth-seeded Commodores (26-9).

"I just didn't want my career to end," Coleman said. "I love playing with this team, and I love wearing a Maryland uniform. That's just what I told myself, that every time I walked onto the floor, I was going to defend, rebound, do whatever I needed to do to keep my career going."

Maryland will play No. 3 seed Louisville — coached by former Maryland assistant Jeff Walz — tomorrow night for a spot in the Final Four.

LOUISVILLE 56, BAYLOR 39

Angel McCoughtry had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help the third-seeded Cardinals (32-4) romp past the second-seeded Lady Bears (29-6) to reach the first regional championship game in school history.

"As excited as I am, I'm even more excited for these kids because we work them hard, I'm telling you," Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. "We have got to be the tougher team on the floor. The first 6 minutes of the second half, we weren't. They got loose balls, they beat us down the floor in transition. After we got that straightened out, I thought we started to play the way we needed to play."

Candyce Bingham added 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Cardinals. That included a pair of critical 3-pointers during a 12-0 spurt in the final eight minutes minutes that finally blunted a gritty performance by the Bears. Louisville closed the game with an 18-2 run.