Game 25: Miami

We all had five days to stew over the loss, but now it's game time again. Today's opponent is Miami and begins a two-game stretch where we should be able to develop the bench.

Miami is 8-12 and 1-4 in the ACC. They beat Clemson by 5 and lost to LSU (11), Duke (12), Georgia Tech (3), Virginia (11) as far as common opponents go.

Miami scores 64.5 points per game and allows 62.5. The most they have allowed is 84. They are outrebounded 38.5 to 38.1. They shoot 39.4% from the floor and 32.6% from behind the arc, while their opponents both shoot better than that. The Hurricanes shoot 60% from the free throw line. Interesting fact of the day: Miami has played in front of 14,000 fans total (that's including home and road games). Our last two home games were in front of 25,000 combined.

Miami is led by Maurita Reid. She leads the team in points (16.5), rebounds (5.8), steals (81) and shot attempts (292). Shut her down you shut the team down. She shoots roughly 40% from both inside and outside the arc and will use quickness to get to the bucket. Albrey Grimsley is second on the team in scoring at 8.8 and leads the team in assists. She will shoot outside but prefers to stay closer to the bucket. Epiphany Woodson is fourth on the team in scoring at 6.4. She will spot up and take the three and shoots 30% from there, but shoots 59% from the foul line. Carla Williams is the lone post player in this offense and averages 6.0 ppg. She only grabs 4.4 rebounds per game, shoots 47% from the floor and doesn't take 3s. Charmaine Clark is their fifth starter and is a guard/forward. She has taken 16 threes this year and only made 1. She is essentially in there to shot block. Off the bench their scoring threat is LaToya Cunningham, who is third on the team in scoring. She also likes to shoot the 3. Diane Barnes will give Williams a rest in the post.

This game should be over at halftime and if it's not I hope it's because Kat, Drey, Jade and Ashleigh have seen extended minutes. I would prefer all four didn't play at once, because they need to be worked into the rotation for us to go deep in March. Jade should have a big game today due to the lack of post presence by Miami.

This is what I want to see today:
1) Smiles on the faces of Jade and Kristi. I sure miss those.
2) None of the starters playing more than 30 minutes. They need some rest.
3) A Big line up featuring three post players, Marissa and either KT or Kat at the 1
4) A complete game.
5) Ashleigh Newman hitting a three-pointer.

Also, I completely forgot, but thanks to Chris for pointing it out. Crystal needs two points for 2,000. Looks like she will be getting another commerative ball (I wonder what she does with them all?). Also, Kristi is two assists away from 500.

Wednesday's Words

Looks the Inside Edition tease was just that, a tease. Who knows when it will be on again.

The Diamondback finally did its Daron Park story.

The Annapolis Capital wrote about Brenda's pregnancy

It's Bracket Prediction time and both Charlie Creme and Jerry Palm have posted theirs.

Crystal and Kristi are slipping in the Wade Watch

Marissa was left off the MidSeason Naismith Award List.

Under the Shell Episode #2

Monday Musings

Brenda was on Inside Edition today. If it appears online I will post it here.

I posted a new poll today regarding baby names. Thanks to Heidi Scanlon who provided a bunch.

So we lose on the road in double overtime minus two players, you would figure most pollsters would take this into account. Not the AP voters. We only dropped to fifth, but 12 poeple felt that we should be sixth or worse. Four people: Buddy Davis (7), Eric Herter (7), Stu Durando (7) and Ramona Shelburne (8) picked us seventh or eighth (Click on their names to e-mail them if you want).

Love the feedback in the comments section regarding the loss to UNC and I do agree that some of the players may be worried about being pulled hence their tentativeness. Keep it up people. I really want to see Drey in the same line up as Harper or Lang. I don't want to see Drey and Jade at the same time. Something really crazy would be Kristi/Marissa at the 1, Marissa/Marah at the 2, Drey at the 3, Harper at the 4 and Langhorne at the 5. That line up would give some teams fits and could help with length if we went to a 2-3 zone in the future.

One last point about the game and the terrible officiating. At the 10 minute mark of the second half, both teams had 7 team fouls. We committed 16 in the next 20 minutes, UNC committed 3.

Heels Depth Outlast Terps in Double Overtime

Well, the overtime streak had to end at some point and while I would rather it never end, I am glad it happened in the regular season. We played Carolina tight with 7 players, but once we got to 5 it was going to be rough, especially with lack of height.

There are several reason why we lost today.
1. Depth. We have the best starting five in America, problem is no one on the bench can play because they don't get minutes. Ashleigh hasn't hit a jumper in weeks, Jade looks disinterested because she doesn't get to play and Kat and Drey can probably give a great scouting report of the different bench chairs in the ACC. We won't go far in either tournament if Drey doesn't see minutes. I am pretty sure she knows how to rebound and that's all we would need her to do to spell Laura and Crystal.
We were exhausted at the end of boths halves because no one can come off the bench. If we don't feel Kat can play PG, slide her to the 2 and let Marissa play the point for a while.
2. Rebounding. Carolina outrebounded us by 13 and mainly because of hustle. The guards need to help keep the more athletic teams off the glass.
3. Daron's inexperience. I want to say we had a great game plan defensively, as we held Carolina to 71 points in regulation and I think Daron did a great job that way. But I think today he coached not to lose instead of to win. We were doing great, passing the ball around looking for open shots, but with the game in hand we went to isolation plays and worked on dribbling the shot clock out. Problem with that is that Carolina is long and can contain Kristi and Marissa, plus it gives us no chance at a rebound as the Heels can stand around waiting for the shot. We did the same thing versus GT. If we played to win, we would all be celebrating. But it's something he can learn from.
His inexperience didn't help with the refs either and that's not a slight on him because he can't do anything about that. Jesus could have been the coach and the refs wouldn't have given us calls. Sylvia knows how to work the refs and after 0 free throws in the first half, UNC shot 38 in the second half, while we shot 11. Our whole team was in foul trouble despite no one having more than 1 in the first half. Yet Carolina never was in foul trouble. In fact, the refs evened it up right away as Langhorne had 3 fouls less than four minutes into half #2. I am sure Commissioner McGlade will put a little extra into the checks of Wesley Dean, Eric Brewton and Joe Cunningham this week.
4. We settled for outside shots. We should have pounded it more downlow, but I do realize Carolina's length made that tough.
5. Kristi's pressing. She was great at distributing the ball, but you can see she's trying to will each shot. Someone needs to relax her when she misses.

Carolina isn't better than us, they just have more depth. But from now to the end of the season, Drey should see at least 10 minutes a night and Kat at least 5 considering the teams we are playing the rest of the way.

It's time to rebound against Miami and make sure we don't lose again this year. We need some breaks but we can still get that one seed.

Game 24: North Carolina

Today marks the end of the tough portion of our ACC schedule as we close out a four-game stretch that featured Duke, Virginia and Georgia Tech, all of which we can't stand. A win today puts us in the driver's seat for the ACC Regular Season title and #1 seed in the ACC Tournament.

North Carolina enters the game 17-2 and 4-0 in the conference. Their two losses are to UConn and Tennessee both of which came on the road. They just played Monday and blew a big lead to UConn so I have no idea what their psyche will be. They beat Georgia Tech by 21 and BC by 26.

Carolina likes to play fast. Their style is get the ball and go. They want to take 100 shots a game. We need to slow them down. On defense, they love to trap, so we have to stay in the middle of the court and get the ball to the open person. Something we didn't do well against GT. Sylvia just lets them do what they want and that's why they don't win titles.

UNC averages 89.4 points per game, while only allowing 61.5. They outrebound opponents by 10.7 per game. They average 7.5 blocks per game and 14 steals. The only thing they don't do well is shoot 3s and take care of the ball.

The Tar Heels are led by Erlana Larkins. Even though she is third in scoring, everything goes through her. She sets screens, she rebounds, plays defense, scores and shows emotion all with a broken hand. If we can shut her down or take her out of the offense, we will win this game. Rashanda McCants is the leading scorer and shot taker. She loves to use her athleticism to get by you. She will shoot jumpers and the three ball, which she shoots at 31.3%. She uses her length to get steals and rebounds. LaToya Pringle is next on the team in scoring. Like McCants she uses her athleticism, but doesn't take 3s. She leads the team in blocked shots. The new Ivory Latta is Cetera DeGraffenreid. She's fast, she has the attitude, but doesn't shoot that well from 3. The fifth starter is Heather Claytor and she is mainly a three-point threat. She sits out there and spots up for three. Jessica Breland is the post player off the bench. She's another long player, who can block shots and rebound. Italee Lucas is the back up PG and sometimes two guard. She also is not a great three-point shooter. The best three-point shooter is Rebecca Gray at 39.6%.

Essentially, Carolina's roster is filled with the same player so even if one goes out their clone comes in. They love to attack the hoop and create contact. We must box out and keep them off the boards. If we don't do that it will be a long afternoon. Kristi needs to get out of her slump against the smaller player and Marah must take advantage of her match up too. I don't know what defense we will play as a zone will expose us rebounding wise and we may not have the right match ups for man-to-man.

Washington Post

Baltimore Sun

Friday Factoids

Mechelle Voepel wrote a great article on Kristi

Crystal moves up to fourth in the Wade Watch.

Jeff Lippman continues his backhanded compliments towards the Terps.

The Examiner writes about Coach Park's influence.

The Laurel Leader writes about one of its residents.

The SI Power Poll still has us ranked fourth

Brenda on the Early Show

For those of you that missed it this morning, Brenda was on The Early Show with Laura and Marissa.

Wednesday's Words

Maryland moved up to three in the coaches' poll, but stayed at four in the AP. Jay Jenkins in Charlottesville felt that we were the sixth best team after watching us play on Friday. He also can't spell Toliver, so take it with a grain of salt.

Crystal earns her third ACC Player of the Week and sixth of her career.

Nice article today in the USA Today regarding Brenda's pregnancy.

Jasmina Perazic is Maryland's Legend at the ACC tournament.

Under The Shell Episode #1

Terps Survive Double Overtime to Defeat Georgia Tech

Who knew when I stepped inside Comcast Center yesterday I was going to get free basketball as well as a street ball game? In the best game of the year, we survived not one but two possible winning streak ending plays. First was shot the at the end of regulation after the steal. Then was the free throw attempt with 1.6 left in OT on what should have been a non-call. Luckily for us, GT missed both and we finally outlasted the Yellow Jackets in the second five-minute session.

Obviously I felt we could have played better but we had less than a day to be prepared for the game and Georgia Tech is a hell of a team. Their players aren't scared of the spotlight and stepped up big. It also helped that the referees decided that clutching, grabbing and physical play is completely acceptable. Coupled with the fact that GT was able to walk with the ball on nearly every possession made it a very long and loud game as I screamed at the refs on nearly every possession.

For the third time this week, we were shown how much different this team is from last year's team. Last year's team wilted with the pressure. This year's team takes the pressure, crumples it up in a ball and shoots it through the hoop. How else do you explain Marissa stepping up an hitting her only three-pointer of the game with two minutes left in OT and the team down 6? What about Crystal going 5-for-5 from the free throw line in OT? I never lost faith yesterday and it's going to be hard for me to lose faith the rest of the year.

Most days a 20-20 game would not be overshadowed, but when someone on your team scores 31 and grabs 15 rebounds, you have to take a backseat. We were great on the boards except for two possessions. Georgia Tech had a great gameplan of attacking the hoop and their freshmen didn't seem to feel the pressure of the big game.

Kristi seems to reverting back to getting frustrated when things don't go her way, but she needs to relax and let the game come to her.

We have to handle the press better, but for now it's time to rest and get ready for Carolina.

Baltimore Sun

Washington Times

ESPN.com

Washington Post

DC Sports Box

Game 23: Georgia Tech

The third and final game of this week may be the toughest. Duke was a game we had circled all season. Virginia was a road game followed by a 3-hour bus ride home and now we play Georgia Tech with North Carolina looming on the horizon.

Georgia Tech is 16-2 on the year and 3-1 in the ACC. Their two losses have been to Georgia and North Carolina. They beat Temple and Wake both by 10.

Georgia Tech is known for their defense, primarily their press. They will play full-court defense for 40 minutes with pressure on the inbounder and the guard receiving the ball then they will try and trap. When the ball crosses half-court they will go into a 1-3-1 type of zone to confound the shooters. Offensively, they run everything off a pick at the top of the three-point arc. It could be a three, drive to the paint or a pass down low. We have to fight through the screen and disrupt their offense.

They average 70.9 ppg while allowing 57.6. They are second in the league in steals. They outrebound opponents nearly 6 per game. GT shoots 41.9 from the floor and 30.6 from three, while opponents shoot 40.0 from the floor and 28.8 from three.

Georgia Tech is led by forward Janie Mitchell, who average 16.9 ppg and grabs 6.8 reboubds. She is lean and quick to the hoop, but has only shot 9 threes all year (making 2). She is turnover prone and not really seen as a shot blocker. Chioma Nnamaka is their scoring threat from outside. She averages 16.1 ppg and has taken 127 three-pointers this year and shoots 42.7 % from there. She will help rebound as well. Alex Montgomery is third on the team in scoring with 10.2 ppg. She also grabs 6.0 rebounds per game and acts as the team's point-forward as she is second on the team in assists. Montgomery will shoot the three and shoots 30 percent from there. She is also the team's leading shot blocker. Iasia Hemingway is one of the starters at guard. She is the fourth option on the team is not really a three-point threat. Hemingway will help on the glass and isn't a great free throw shooter. Jacqua Williams rounds out the starting five for GT and is in there primarily for her defense. She leads the team in steals with 68 and is not much of a scoring threat. Jill Ingram is the team's spark off the bench as she leads the team in assists and is second in steals. Ingram is third on the team in three-point attempts and has taken the fourth most shots on the team. Brigitte Ardossi, Deja Foster and Daphne Mitchell are the post subs and none are a real threat.

We need to break the press quickly and not allow GT to set traps or their defense. We need to be smart with the ball and make the right passes. Lastly, we need to rebound the ball effectively.

On defense, if we play man we have several match up issues as they are athletic at all five spots. I would say Crystal guards Mitchell, Harper on Montgomery, Coleman on Nnamaka, Strickalnd on Hemingway and Toliver on Williams. I can see us playing more of a triangle and two like we did on Friday to keep Mitchell and Nnamaka in check, but I am sure we will come up with something.

Terps Continue Streak Versus Virginia

Well it wasn't a pretty first half of basketball as we reverted back to our sloppy ways with the ball and Kristi looked rattled due to turnovers and her misses, but we regained our composure midway through the half and went into halftime down 1 (the first time all year we have trailed at the half). The second half was more of the Maryland basketball we have come to expect this year as we played solid defense, rebounded the ball and played our game instead of letting Virginia dictate the pace. I have to give Virginia credit as they never let up, but eventually emotion died down and the Terps D was too much to handle.

Marah Strickland gets the game ball for her gutty performance on offense and defense. She sets a career high with 19 points and let the game come to her. On defense we when put in a triangle and 2 (or so it seemed) she was guarding Littles, a more physical player, and held her own. If Marah has more performances like she did last night, we should be very well set for a deep March run. PLus for the first time all year, she played the whole game.

Congrats to Crystal who broke the school scoring record and for the second time this year decided that just getting to the record wasn't enough, she wanted to crush it. (remember that she grabbed 18 rebounds to pass Len Elmore a few weeks ago). Next up for Crystal is 2,000 points.

It was good to see Kat and Drey get some valuable minutes and hopefully we see more of that in the future.

I thought our defense played well in the zone, except when we rotated too far and allowed Virginia to spot up for open threes.

This game would have been a lot different if Coleman doesn't pick up two fouls right away.

Now it's a day rest (we all know the players aren't resting today) before we avenge last year's regular season loss to Georgia Tech. Expect us to be pressed and trapped all night.

Game 22: Virginia

Fresh off our big win on Monday it's down I-64 to Charlottesville for our annual battle with Virginia. We have won four-straight against the Cavaliers including two at their place. This will be a big test in terms of the team's psyche as we will see if the win over Duke still lingers in their heads or if that feeling went away Tuesday morning.

Virginia is 13-4 and 2-0 in the ACC and has won seven-straight games. They have lost to George Washington, South Carolina, Hartford and UConn. The Hartford loss was in Hawaii after two days of hoops. Like us they have beaten Wake Forest, but they only won by 19.

The Cavaliers score 73.9 points per game, while only allowing 59.9. The most they have given up this year is 83 and they haven't allowed more than 57 in over a month. They play straight man-to-man but will press off of inbounds plays and then will try to trap the guard in the corner. The key is for the guard to come off the corner to the middle to receive the ball and then slice through the middle of the press to find the open players running down the court as the press is a 2-1-1-1. They shoot 45% from the floor and nearly 40% from three-point land. Opponents shoot 40% and 30%, respectively. They aren't a great rebounding team as they outrebound opponents 38.8-34.7. They are turnover prone too.

Monica Wright leads the team in scoring (17.6), shot attempts (250), steals (46) and blocks (11). She can do everything and it appears that Debbie Ryan is now running the offense through her. She tends to be over aggressive on defense and could get into foul trouble. Lyndra Littles is second on the team in scoring at 15.9 and second in rebounding at 5.7. She will shoot the three if left open. Littles has been hampered by a knee injury lately and as a result has not started the last two games. Littles is their main post threat considering she missed four games and is still third on the team in shot attempts. Their other post presence is 6-3 Aisha Mohammed, who missed last year with a knee injury. She is third in scoring (12.6) and first in rebounding (9.1). She doesn't shoot threes and is not a great free throw shooter. Neither one of their post players are shot blockers either. Paulisha Kellem is one of two starting guards for them. She likes to slash to the hoop and create off the dribble and may take a three if left open. Their PG is Sharnee Zoll, who has really become a distributor this season as she is only averaging 8.1 ppg. She is their top three-point threat, but will also try to break players off the dribble to get into the lane. Enoge Stovall is the first sub off the bench (and may start due to Littles' injury) and is not much of an offense threat.

We need to attack their posts and make smart decisions with the ball to put this game away early. If Littles doesn't start I can see us starting the game in zone to counteract the four-guard line up. If she does start then Toliver gets Zoll, Coleman on Wright, Strickland on Kellem, Langhorne on Mohammed and Harper on Littles. Virginia can give us fits if we let them hang around. I want to slam the door on them early so that the ladies can rest up for the press that awaits them from Georgia Tech on Sunday.

If you aren't going to the game then you can watch it on ComcastSportsNet Plus.

Brenda on WJZ

There was a taped segment on WJZ last featuring Coach Frese and her twins

Terps Exorcise Blue Devils, 85-70

What a fun night at Comcast last night and it was even more fun to watch Duke leave the arena with frowns on their faces. For the first time since 1998, they lost at Maryland. I still won't be satisfied until we beat them down there, but that comes later in the season.

As for the game, I think we played ok and we were very tight, especially KT. She missed open looks, lay ups and free throws, yet still finished with 21 points. Defensively, our post defense could have been better, but when we needed a stop and a rebound late in the game, we got them. I always felt we would win last night, but I got nervous the few times Duke would pull close. The team this year didn't panic and put into into fourth gear at the end to seal the win. I think the Rutgers game helped us grow a lot as they are similiar to Duke and made the same comeback.

Marissa played great and had a ton of confidence with each shot she took. Crystal struggled with her shot but found her stroke at the line. Laura played just as well and would have liked her to get more touches in the second half.

I think we can play better and will get better. We have two games before Carolina and we need to focus only on Virginia and GTech both of which could gives us fits.

Articles

Baltimore Sun

Washington Post

Annapolis Capital

ESPN.com

Duke Chronicle

Duke Chronicle

Duke Chronicle

News & Observer

Washington Times

CSTV.com

Game 21: Ekud

Today we face our first true test of the ACC season and first ranked opponent since Rutgers. While this game won't be a sellout like last year (mainly because of the Monday game) I expect a large crowd on hand. The game is on ESPN2, which makes it an even bigger deal. I hope our ladies are ready as last year we seem to wilt in the spotlight. it also doesn't help that we are playing Ekud, who we have only beaten twice in the last 16 meetings (once at the ACC tournament, once in the Championship game).

Ekud is 13-3 this season and 2-0 in the ACC. Their losses have come to UConn, Vanderbilt and Penn State. Our two common opponents are Rutgers and Pittsburgh, both of which they defeated (Rutgers by 5, Pitt by 2). Even though Duke has a new coach they still play their tough defense. I figured they would resort to the 2-3 zone that McCallie used at MSU last year, but it seems to me that they know play aggressive man-to-man and a 2-1-1-1 press on all makes. Duke pressures you to speed up your offense and it helps when you have 6-6 Chante Black in the middle. We have to be careful about cross court passes and picking up our dribble too early as Duke attacks the ball handler when the ball is picked up.

The Blue Devils allow only 53.8 points per game with 86 points being the most they have given up all year. They outrebounded opponents by 9 per game. Ekud shoots 42.5% from the floor, but only 28.8% from three-point range. They are also a deep team as they have several options off the bench with four players having more than 10 blocks.

Ekud's offense runs through Black, who is averaging 14.2 and 7.1 and has 40 more blocks. We must attack her and get her out of the game or play better defense on her than we did on Swords on Thursday. Abby Waner is second on the team in scoring with 11.0 ppg and leads the team in steals. She isn't having a great shooting year, but she sometimes shines in the big games, we cannot leave her open. She also leads the team in assists as she will get the ball from the top and then dump it down to Black or Joy Cheek. Cheek is their new Mistie Bass averaging 9.9 and 5.0. She will attempt a 3 if left open and doesn't block that many shots. Jasmine Thomas is their freshman PG, who was a McDonald's All-American. She averages only 8.0 ppg and is second on the team in steals. She has made only 11 of 49 three pointers this year and would much prefer to drive to the bucket. Wanisha Smith is their fifth starter as they go with a three guard line up. Smith is playing her last game at the Comcast Center having played locally for Diane Richardson. She has only taken 81 shots on the season mainly because she hurt her hand earlier in the season and is just coming back. Carrem Gay comes off the bench to replace Cheek. She is second on the team in rebounding and of her 109 shots only four were 3s.

We need to attack the press before Ekud is able to set it up and must take care of the ball. Our defense needs to be stellar as Ekud will set up their press after makes. Crystal and Laura need to be big on the glass and not let Black go crazy. I think we can win this game as long as we play our game.

Toliver should guard Thomas, Strickland on Smith, Coleman on Waner, Harper on Black and Langhorne on Cheek.


For those who are new to rooting for the team Ekud is Duke backwards and refers to what the coaching staff did to get the ladies mind off of the Blue Devils during the 2006 ACC tournament.

Terps Continue Undefeated Streak in Boston

Another trip to Boston, another win. I think that pushes our streak to 5 and it seems like BC is the only Boston area team that can't win at home.

All-around decent effort although we had our chance to crush them for good, but we let them back into it. BC's zone seemed to give us fits from outside as we shot 7-26 from three. Luckily, Crystal was down low to gobble up the rebounds. She only needed 8 for the basketball record, but obviously felt 18 was a more impressive number. After a cold first half, Toliver heat up from outside and finished with a season-high 26 points. I am glad to see that Harper did better from the line and that our turnovers numbers again stayed down. Coleman looks to be back in her shooting slump but hopefully she shakes it off and gets ready for the next game.

I am disappointed that we let a freshman score 28 on us, especially when she took 16 shots. Post defense has to better when we play more talented teams.

My bigger complaint is the minute distribution. Why is Kristi playing 40 minutes in a 27-point blowout win? Were we afraid that BC was going to make a furious rally to tie the game up late in the second half? Why is Crystal playing 37 minutes? The only thing it does it leaves us open for injuries. Does the staff have no faith in Drey Mingo or Kat Lyons? Both need experience, especially Drey as she will be thrust into a starting role next year (that is, if she decides to stay).

Next up is Ekud on Monday at 7 in hopefully a packed Comcast Center.

Game 20: Boston College

Back on the road again for a during the week game this time we go to one of our favorite locations - BOSTON! For those of you who don't recall, Boston is where we won the National Title in 2006 and hopefully Tampa becomes a favorite city later this year. Coach B is again staying at home to take care of her precious cargo so Coach Parks will look to continue to keep us on the winning track.

This could be a trap game for us as we look ahead to Ekud on Monday. BC is 9-0 at home with their toughest game being a win over NC State on Sunday. Our common opponents are Delaware (W, 53-51) and Notre Dame (L, 88-58). The Eagles have lost two other times and they were to UMass and Fairfield.

The Eagles are a young team as only on upperclassmen makes up their top five scorers. They are only averaging 67.9 ppg and allow 57.6 ppg. They outrebounded opponents by 12 and their inside defense is stout allowing only a 37.6 shooting percentage from inside the arc. BC plays a match up zone meaning penetration should be easy against them. The zone keeps them out of foul trouble as not one player has fouled out all year.

Their offense runs through the posts as they have 6-4 freshman Stephanie Murphy (5-time ACC ROW) and 6-6 freshman Carolyn Swords down low. Murphy leads the team in points and rebounds at 18.5 and 10.2. Swords is next at 14.4 and 8.1. Next is the American Idol, 6-0 Guard Ayla Brown is averaging 8.5 and 6.2. She will shoot the 3 if left open. Mickel Picco, who comes off the bench, is their primary shooting threat as she has taken 63 of 90 shots from behind the arc. You may recall last year, she went crazy on us. Brittany Johnson is their slashing guard and has only taken 16 three-pointers. Jacyln Thoman is their point guard.

Crystal, Laura, Jade, Drey and Marissa will have to be great on the glass as Murphy, Swords and Brown all attack the glass. I think we need to play uptempo and force BC to play a style they are not comfortable with. Defensively, I see Kristi on Thoman, Marah on Johnson, Marissa on Brown, Crystal on Swords and Laura on Murphy.

The game is on ACC Select and will be broadcast by WMUC.

Two milestones to track: Ashleigh playing in her 124th straight-game and Crystal needs 8 rebounds for the school record.

Tuesday Tidbits

Up to 4th in Both polls and according to pollspeak.com, no one is voting us lower than 5th in the AP poll.

Crystal was named ACC Player of the Week for the second time this year.

Brenda made the Celebrity Baby Blog.

The Post and The Times each wrote an article about Coach Park taking over for Brenda.

Kat Lyons was featured in the Winston-Salem Journal prior to her game against Wake Forest.

Kristi and Crystal are now fifth and sixth in the CSTV's Wade Watch

Terps Demolish Tigers, 110-46

It's days like yesterday where you wonder if the Clemson team would have felt better had they just stayed in South Carolina and been ridiculed for not showing up to play rather than the blasting they took at Comcast. We won by 64 points, yes you read that right, 64 POINTS against a conference team. I knew we would win big, but I never imagined us accomplishing the don't have to score after halftime feat. Do you realize Harper and Langhorne outscored Clemson and nearly outrebounded them?


All around stellar effort by the team. Defensively, we have held our last two opponents to sub-20 point halves. Offensively, we are beginning to click. Strickland is gaining more confidence as the games go by and Crystal seems to be back on track. One thing I am beginning to enjoy is how Toliver lets the game flow to her and slices up the defense passingwise before waiting until the final 10 minutes and then going on a scoring spree.

We only had 10 turnovers which is great. Harper needs to work on her free throws otherwise we have two post players who aren't consistent.

Next is BC on Thursday.

Game 19: Clemson

Today is the home ACC opener and it's against the 7-8 Clemson Tigers.

Clemson has beat Maine, Duquesne, Rice, Siena, Furman, James Madison and Charleston Southern. Clemson should have been a lot better this year, but lost three of it's players to ACL tears this year. They are riding a three-game losing streak and have lost six straight to the Terps. They only score 61.0 ppg (second to last in the ACC) and give up 65.7 ppg (last in the ACC) so it looks like another possible scoring spree for the Terps. They are getting outrebounded 43.6 to 39.7. Clemson shoots .368 from the floor and only .272 from behind the arc.

Clemson is led by D'Lesha Lloyd who is averaging 9.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg. She is 6-0 forward who spends her time in the paint. She has taken 1 three all year. Morganne Campbell is second on the team in scoring at 8.4 ppg. She is a 5-8 guard who has taken 29 shots, but primarily shoots inside the arc. Christy Brown is another guard and seems to share ballhandler duties with LeLe Hardy as she leads the team in assists. Despite only being 5-10, Hardy leads the team in rebounding. Moreemi Davis is their starting center and only averages 3.7 ppg and 3.5 rpg. She has taken 53 shots all year. She is replaced by April Parker. Sthefany Thomas and Kirstyn Wright are the subs who will shoot the 3, as both have taken 50 each.

This should be a blowout if we play the way we normally play. Anything less and I will be disappointed.

Crystal needs 14 points to pass Shay for second on the scoring list. Ashleigh just needs to get some playing time (pretty much a lock) to tie the record for consecutive games played at 123.

The game is on ACC Select and WMUC, but if you live local wouldn't you be there in person?

Terps Wallop Deacons, 83-49

When a team only allows 47 points per game and you score 47 in the first half, it's a good day. Maryland came within three points of again not having to play in the second half. Wake had no match for Maryland's quickness as they rarely had the chance to set their defense up. The zone was also ineffective in rebounding as Maryland grabbed 49 boards to their 36. I think our problem with teams that focus on defense may be over.

I really liked how we attacked on the break and how Strickland seems more confident in her shot these days. We had 20 turnovers, but half of them were traveling calls where it looked like trying to make a move was a travel. Harper's free throw shooting needs to get better and I am sure it will. Defensively we were a little lax in the second half, but when up 36, I can't complain. The ACC Select guy made it seem like the second half was even, but had the starters played the whole game, the result would not have been different.

Crystal records her third-straight double-double and is closing in on the team lead. Marissa did a great job on Tchangoue and as result she didn't score as much. Kristi may be close to the assist record and that will be the next thing I start tracking on the left as she now owns the three-point record. I feel bad for the person who has to chase that record next.

A few days off before Clemson comes to town. Clemson is 7-8 and just lost to Charlotte.

In other ACC Action:
- BC beat Virginia Tech, 63-53
- LSU beat Florida State, 73-61
- Duke beat UNC Central, 82-29

Game 18: at Wake Forest

From now until March we play only conference opponents against some of the best teams in the country. Tomorrow we start against Wake Forest, marking one of two trips to the Tar Heel State this month. We have won five straight against the Demon Deacons, but our last trip to Winston-Salem resulted in an OT win. Rumor has it that the game is being promoted as Kat Lyons Day meaning that Wake is encouraging Maryland fans in the area to come root against their team. (Can't wait for MD's Marketing Dept to promote Wanisha Smith Day on Jan. 14)

Wake is 12-2 on the season with their two losses coming to JMU and Radford, but they did knock off Texas A&M at home. The Deacons problem is that they can't score. They are averaging 60.4 points per game and have only broke that mark FOUR times all year. While they can't score, they don't let opponents score either allowing only 47.1 points per game and the most they have allowed was 64 to JMU. Opponents shoot only .311 from the floor and .305 from behind the arc against them. They aren't that great at shooting the ball either making only 40 percent of their shots.

I was able to watch some of their game versus Charlotte on ACC Select and from what I can tell, they play a match up zone on defense. Now the zone looked ragged as the players raced down to get into their spots, so who knows if they have improved on that. The zone keeps them out of foul trouble and they are outrebounding opponents, but some of their opponents probably have no height. On offense they set screens so that Tchangoue can get open and shoot. When that fails they dump into Groves.

Tchangoue leads the team in points and rebounds and is not afraid to shoot the three. Marissa will likely guard her. Groves is second on the team in both categories, but has come off the bench recently. Christen Brown is a 6-2 forward who can also shoot the 3. She averages 5.5 rebounds per game. I envision Harper covering her. Valentine is their shot blocker so Langhorne will probably be on her. I am guessing that Collier is the point guard given her higher number of assist totals, but it could also be Morris. Morris is less of a three-point shooter than Collier. Whoever plays the point will be the third different one this year as one got a concussion and one left the program.

Offensively, we need to grab the ball and go and not let WF settle into their defense. Attack Valentine when given the chance to take the shotblocker out of the middle. Defensively, pressure their guards, rebound the ball and fight through screens. Do all this and it should result in win 17.

Tuesday Tidbits

We stayed at fifth in the AP poll and actually lost two points.

Marissa was named ACC Player of the Week giving us five in nine weeks.

Crystal was one of 30 seniors nominated for the CLASS Award

Crystal, Laura, Marissa and Kristi were all selected to the Preseason Naismith Watch List.