Game 29: at Miami

The Year was 1989: George Bush the dad was President, the Berlin Wall fell down, stamps cost a quarter, Marissa and KT were two, the Basketcases were part of Weller's Women and Vicky Bullett was the career leader in points and rebounds.

Now's its 2009: George Bush the son was just President, stamps cost 42 cents, Marissa and KT are 22, the Basketcases are Basketcases and Vicky Bullet is third in career points and rebounds (soon to be fourth in points).

What do they have in common? 1989 was the last time ACC Champion and Maryland Terps was uttered in the same sentence and tomorrow around 4 p.m. that sentence could be uttered again.

Miami is all that stands in the way of that becoming reality. Hoping the girls aren't spending any time on South Beach until after the game. Miami is playing for pride at this point and possibly Katie Meier's job as they have had another disappointing year (somewhere Fern is laughing). The Hurricanes are 2-11 in conference play and most likely the 10 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. They have been giving teams fits lately but then struggle down the stretch.

Miami
Record: 13-15
Common Non-Conference Opponents: None
PPG/OPP: 65.9/63.0
FG%/OPP: .400/.387
3FG%/OPP: .276/.314
FT%/OPP: .638/.681
RPG/OPP: 37.9/42.5
TOS/OPP: 16.9/21.2
STEALS/OPP: 11.3/8.9
BLOCKS/OPP: 4.8/3.4

The Starters:
- Shenise Johnson. 5'11 freshman forward who leads the team in almost every category. The favorite for ACC ROY. More of an inside game but will shoot the 3 if you let her. Shoots 85% from the line.
- LaToya Cunningham. 5'6 senior guard. Prefers to stay outside the paint and shoot jumpers. best three-point shooter. shoots only 61% from the line. Doesn't help on that glass that much.
- Epiphany Woodson. 5'8 sophomore guard. fourth in scoring. will shoot the 3 but only shooting 22% from there. Rarely gets to the line and rarely fouls the other team. She also has no steals which says to me, she doesn't play defense.
- Charmaine Clark. 5'11 junior forward. 5th on the team in scoring. Rarely shoots the 3. Will help on the glass. third on the team in assists. second in blocked shots. Mainly an inside presence.
- Sylvia Bullock. 6'2 freshman from Alaska (I doubt she complains about the weather). Plays about 12 minutes a game. Doesn't shoot the 3. shoots 43% from the line. not much of an offensive or rebounding threat.
The Reserves
- Riquna Williams. 5'7 freshman guard. second leading scorer. Makes 22% of her threes yet continues to jack up shots. Not much of a rebounder and rarely passes the ball.
- Lamese James. 6'1 senior forward. Another player who rarely factors into the offense having taken only 82 shots all year. Not much of a passer. Will help on defense.
- Diane Barnes. 6'2 junior forward. Inside player who is third on the team in rebounding. Not a great free throw shooter. Tends to get in foul trouble.
- LaToya Drake. 6'2 senior forward. Averages 5.9 points and 3.4 rebounds. Not a three point shooter but will get involved in the offense. Another not so good free throw shooter.
- Briyana Blair. 5'10 sophomore combo player. Plays about 11 minutes a game. Has made only 3 threes all year. She can be left open on the jumper. Not a big help on the glass.

Keys to the Game
- Control Johnson. She's the entire team. I have a feeling that Marah will find out if she is wearing deodorant by the end of the night.
- Rebound the ball. We easily have the height advantage and there is no reason to not win the battle on the glass.
- Watch for the senior day burst. Miami's players may try to send out the Hurricanes on a winning note. We need to end that quickly.
- Control the tempo. I haven't seen Miami play but I doubt they have much of offense. If we get them helter skelter, we will be fine.
- Establish other scores. Kizer, Liles and Strickland need to know that they can score and we will need them in the postseason.


The game is on ACC Select, something else that wasn't around in 1989.

Seniors Shine on Senior Night

Here I was worried that our seniors would get too emotional with all the pregame ceremonies. Turns out they decided that they would try to beat a team by themselves for the second straight game. While they did combine for 59 points, the defense was lacking today and we needed a late push to seal the deal. I would have liked to see Coach take a timeout with 16 seconds left and sub out Marissa and Kristi but I can be petty at times.

The win makes us undefeated at home in the ACC for the second straight season. Also, we are a win over Miami from winning our first ACC regular season title in a long time.

A win on Sunday means we will either face BC, Wake or NC State in the second round of the ACC Tournament. BC plays NC State on Sunday and if they win they get the 7 seed. NC State needs a win and a win by Virginia to get the 7 seed.

What I liked:
- The fire that Coleman and Toliver are playing with lately. It's now kind of shocking when they miss.
- Marah and Anjale's defense on Picco in the first half. Picco didn't realize her shadow would follow her all over the court. BC's coach made some adjustments and continually ran Picco off of screens to help free her up.
- The lack of turnovers. Eight is great for a game that was fast-paced. I thought we had more.

What I would have liked to see more of:
- Defense. Maybe it's BC, but we seem to not play defense against them. It could be an over focus on the post players but this is the second time a BC bench player have a career night.
- Rebounding. Swords was saddled with foul trouble and we still lost the battle of the boards.
- Other scoring options. It's great to see the seniors shine, but other people need to score. Marah's outside shooting was non-existent and no one else really looked to score.

Game 28: Boston College

Fresh off the big win over Ekud on Sunday, the Terps have another emotional game tonight. But it's a different kind of emotion as we sort of say goodbye to Kristi and Marissa tonight (they will be back for the 1st and 2nd rounds of the tournament). Last year's senior game was very emotional with the entire team crying during pregame festivities and it looked like it took us a half to wake up. We also needed OT to beat Florida State. I hope tonight we can keep our emotions in check until after the game when this happens:



The opponent tonight is Boston College a team we played five games ago. You can read my report about BC here and then check on the recap.

A win tonight puts us another step closer to the #1 seed in the tournament.

Keys to the Game
- Rebound the ball. Dee and Lynetta did a great job in the first match up and we need them to do more of the same tonight.
- Play defense. Last time we let BC do what they wanted on offense and it sparked a trip from AD Yow to practice. This time Ms. Yow can walk into the huddle to impart some words of wisdom if the D is under par.
- Attack the Trees. Swords and Murphy can't keep up with our speed and as a result it should result in fouls.
- Hands up on defense. just a hand in a shooter's face can make all the difference.
- Play cool and calm and the rest will be fine.

Wednesday Words

- Wahoo for the Wahoos. A big thanks goes to the Virginia Cavaliers for upsetting Florida State and putting us in the driver's seat for the Regular Season ACC Title. Two more wins and the #1 seed is ours.
- Marissa earned ACC Player of the Week honors again.
- Charlie Creme moved us up to a one seed as did Jerry Palm
- The Diamondback did a story on Marissa and KT's recent play.

Toliver and Coleman Nearly Defeat Duke By Themselves

What a weekend at the Comcast Center. First the men upset UNC, then the women lay an old fashion beatdown on the Blue Devils. The first half was a little frustrating with the team's tentativeness on offense, but I knew if we kept it close the second half would be ours - and it was.

That was the best opening minutes of the second half I have seen us play in a long time. Usually we look like we are going through the motions, but we played aggressively and let Duke know they were going to have to work for the victory.

The win almost guarantees us a two seed in the ACC Tournament. We have to win our remaining two games and Friday will be hard as Kristi and Marissa will be emotional. To get the 1 seed we need a huge win by Virginia later this week as Miami collapsed in the final minute of their game against FSU.

What I loved
- Kicking the crap out of Duke and watching Coach P look dumbfounded the entire game.
- Kizer and Dee's defensive presence. While most here will pick Toliver or Coleman for player of the game, my vote is between Kizer and Dee. Those two disrupted most of Duke's low post game by either blocking shots, tipping the ball away and grabbing key rebounds. Without that this is a shootout.
- Strickland's defense. I think if you asked Marah what flavor gum Abby was chewing she would have known. Except for a few times, Marah won the game of shadow. Now if she could just work on her offense a little bit.
- Yemi. Honestly, when Yemi came into the game I was worried that Duke would take over in the post, but Yemi held her ground and even came up with some key rebounds.
- Toliver's decision making. Kristi was feeling it early but she did her best to keep her teammates involved and that's great change from earlier in the year.
- Watching the starters on the bench with a minute to go and a huge lead.
- Kicking the crap out of Duke.

Leave it for Rick Maese to be the wet blanket today.

We also said Goodbye to Sa'de yesterday who has decided to remain in school but not with the team. I wish her good luck but it would be nice for her to at least be on the bench like Christie Marrone did last year and Emery is doing this year.

Game 27: Ekud

Another game, another tough-minded defensive team on the horizon. For the third-straight game, Maryland will play a team whose MO is defense first, offense second. The first two games have seen us handle the physical play well and let's hope the third team goes just as well.

This is the second time we play Duke last year and if you recall the first game, we should have won that one too. Marissa was cramping up and Marah was at home battling illness not the same one she battled in December. We lost by 3 and were missing two key contributors. Had we grabbed a few more rebounds the game probably would have went another way.

By my calculations, this game could decide the first three seeds in the tournament. A win by us, locks us into at least the two seed if we win our remaining games as we would own the tiebreaker thanks to our win over FSU. A loss and we drop to the 3 seed and possibly the four seed as Duke would own the tiebreaker. More on this after tomorrow's game.

Record: 22-3 (9-2 ACC)
Non-Conference Common Opponents: -
PPG/OPP: 71.4/55.5
FG%/OPP: .408/.342
3FG%/OPP: .306/.291
FT%/OPP: .683/.642
RPG/OPP: 45.4/36.6
TOs/OPP: 20.0/23.8
Steals/OPP: 13.8/9.5
Blocks/OPP: 5.8/3.0

The Starters
- Chante Black. 6'5 post player who leads the team in points, rebounds, blocks. Can shooter a jumper and has attempted two threes this year (missed both). The offense essentially runs through her at this point. Has fouled out of two games this year.
- Abby Waner. Possibly the last time we will ever see Abby play at Comcast and her career has continually gone down since freshman year. Second on the team in points (9.7), first in steals and assists and three-pointers made. Will help a little on the glass. You never know which Waner will show up - the dead eye or the one who just chucks up shots. She leads the team in steals because she is the one who comes over to help on the trap or lies in wait for the errant pass.
- Jasmine Thomas. Quick point guard. Can shoot the 3 and will do if left open. Great hands and can create turnovers. Not the best shooter.
- Carrem Gay. Lanky forward who is there to help on defense. second on the team in rebounding. Will shoot the 3. second in steals.
- Bridgette Mitchell. Thrust into the starting line up 3 games ago and is the fifth scoring option on the team. Will shoot if open but defers to teammates first.

The Bench
- Joy Cheek. The Muscle down low. very physical player who uses her size to her advantage. Has range on her jumper and will step out and take the 3. Usually gets in foul trouble.
- Karima Christmas. Another one of Duke's defensive pests. Creates turnovers and blocks shots. Shoots 50% from the floor and 40% from behind the arc.
- Keturah Jackson. Heart and soul of the team. Coach G buried her on the bench but Coach P loves her hustle and intensity. Not a great shooter and is in there to create havoc.
- Shay Shelby. Back up guard who doesn't do much.

Keys to the Game
- Control Black. She's long so fronting her will result in lobs over the top. We should play behind her and force her away from the hoop. That way if Duke misses a shot it will be harder for her to rebound.
- Control the glass. Duke has the height so Maryland will have to limit second chance opportunities. We need to go up strong for rebounds.
- Take care of the ball. Duke will want to press and force bad passes to score easy buckets. If we can get a combination of the Rutgers and GT effort I like our chances.
- Don't let Abby get hot. If she catches on fire early we are in trouble. If she misses early, she will get frustrated.
- Watch for the back door cuts. Duke loves to bring the posts high and then have the guards cut underneath for the easy bucket.
- Attack the post. Tennessee did this all night on Monday and it really affected Duke.
- Respect the 3. Unlike GT, Duke has 4 players on the court at all times that can shoot, we can't afford to sag off and leave them wide open.
- Score and score some more. Duke has broken 70 four times in the ACC this year - once was in OT, once against Clemson, Miami and Virginia. I loved the GT strategy of attacking the bucket quickly. I don't think Duke has the offense to keep up with us.

Lastly, The Washington Post is expecting another big crowd tomorrow. Not a sell out, but another big number. I hope it is louder than the men's game was today. And I don't think I need to remind any fans that it is Duke and they are led by the same woman who mocked our IQ last year and doesn't know the names of any of our players. I hope the bullies read her the riot act.

Terps Take Sting Out of Yellow Jackets

Another road game, another somewhat tight ball game. We lead by a lot for most of the game but down the stretch I was getting close to chewing at my nails. We handled the press well for the most part and as a result moved to 22-4 on the season and 9-2 in the ACC. One more ACC win and we lock up a first round bye. Although we are still gunning for the regular season ACC title.

Good to see that we can still win when Kristi has an off night. Now it's time to get ready for Ekud.

What I liked:
- The establishing of Kizer. We knew that GT couldn't handle us in the paint and from the opening tip we attacked them inside. I think Lynetta had the first 8 points for us and finished the first half with 17. Hopefully the freshman slump is over for her.
- The uptempo offense. Instead of letting GT set up the press we went at them full speed so they didn't have a chance to trap us. As a result, we scored bucket after bucket before GT knew what was happening.
- The rebounding. We had the height advantage and for the first time in three games we won the battle on the boards.
- Strickland finding other ways to score. It was good to see that Marah can shoot from other spots on the court. I was getting worried that she could only score from the corners.
- The backdoor cuts. We have been cutting on teams the last several games exceptionally well. It gives a new dimension to the offense and often leads to free throws.

What I would like to see more:
- better control of the ball. We handled the press well, but the problem was we often tried to be too fancy with the ball pretending it was an And1 Mix Tape demo. A lot of the turnovers were unforced.
- Defense. We had roughly two 10 minute stretches where we played solid D but the other times we seemed to let GT do what they wanted. 79 points is a lot for a team that rarely breaks 70. I knew the plan was to limit the dribble drives, but giving Montgomery and Williams space to shoot the 3 was a mistake.

Game 26: at Georgia Tech (ESPNU)

After two games at home, it's back to the road for the Terps and this time it's a dreaded trip to Georgia Tech. We have lost four of the last five games at Georgia Tech including two years ago when the Yellow Jackets stunned us. GT is 12-1 at home and 2-0 versus ranked teams this year.

Tech is a defensive minded team who will press and trap us the second we get off the bus. They are also physical as who can forget last year's double overtime game where 5 players fouled out for them.

This is an important game in terms of seeding for the ACC tournament and hopefully a game we don't look past as it was sandwiched between Rutgers and Duke.

Georgia Tech
Record: 18-7 (5-5 ACC)
Common Opponents: Boston College (L, 64-65), Florida State (L, 49-59), North Carolina (W, 66-62; L, 50-73), Duke (L, 34-60), Clemson (W, 49-41), Wake Forest (L,60-68), NC State (W, 67-54).
PPG/Opp: 65.7/53.9
FG%/Opp: .417/.382
3FG%/Opp: .290/.261
RPG/Opp: 38.5/33.2
TOs/Opp: 22.5/25.6
Steals/Opp: 14.0/9.1

The Starters:
- Alex Montgomery: combo guard/forward who leads the team in points (12.8) and rebounds (7.0). Second on the team in blocks and steals. Will take it inside and shoot it from outside as she is a 32.7% shooter from behind the arc. Doesn't initiate a lot of contact as she has only taken 59 free throws all year.
- Iasia Hemingway: another small guard who likes to take the ball to the hoop having attempted over 100 foul shots on the season. Third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding. Has taken only 18 threes this season.
- Deja Foster: 6'0 guard who has started the last three games. Fourth on the team in scoring, third in rebounding and third in steals. Another player who is more comfortable closer to the basket as she has only taken seven 3-pointers all year and made only 1. Shoots only 60.7% from the line.
- Sasha Goodlett: 6'5 freshman center who is fifth on the team in rebounding despite her size. Doesn't shoot the 3. Makes only 46% of her shots and 55.6% on her free throws.
- Metra Walthour: 5'6 point guard who was thrust into the starting line up after the loss to Wake Forest. Has taken 33 shots all year and only 13 threes. Doesn't rebound and only plays 10 minutes a game. I think she was put in the line up to shake things up a bit.

The Bench:
- Jacqua Williams. One time starter. Pesky defender who leads the team in steals and is second in scoring at 11.4 per game. Primary ballhandler who loves to take people off the dribble and create contact in the paint. Shoots 74.5% from the stripe. Will also shoot the three , making 23 of 77 shots during the year. Doesn't help a ton on rebounding.
-Brigitte Ardossi: 6'2 forward who also used to start. 46.2% from the floor and no three pointers. 82% free throw shooter. fourth on the team in rebounding.
- Mo Bennett: 5'10 guard who plays 13 minutes a game but comes out looking to score as she has shot 123 shots this season. 8 for 39 from 3. Doesn't venture into the paint that often with only 15 foul shots and 2.4 rebounds per game.
- LaQuananisha Adams and Chelsea Regins: freshman post players who see about nine minutes per game. Neither takes a bunch of shots and isn't much help on the glass. Nor have they shot a three all year.
- Shaday Woolcock: Another guard who doesn't shoot much but will take the three. Plays about nine minutes a game. Not much help on the glass.

Keys to the Game:
- Take care of the ball. GT will trap and press pretty much the entire game. They play a 1-3-1 press which confuses teams. We must make safe smart passes to the open players and try to get to the bucket fast. The Jackets haven't scored more than 70 against a real opponent all year.
- Rebound. the team has one player over 6'1. We need to hit the glass hard and watch for their guards coming back to help on the glass. Controlling the defensive glass will give GT less time to set up their press.
- Control Montgomery. Probably Marissa's assignment. If we can limit her scoring chances and keep her off the glass GT is in trouble. Marissa just needs to stay out of foul trouble.
- Keep our composure. GT wants us to speed up play and force it. We need to just play calm and do what we do best.
- Protect the interior. GT isn't a three-point shooting team, so we must be ready for the drives to the bucket.


If you can't watch it on ESPNU try ESPN360.

Tuesday Tidbits

- Maryland is now in the top 10 in both polls. Two more wins this week and we may even be in the top 5.

- Marissa earned ACC Player of the Week for the second time this year.

- From Charlie Creme's column on Sunday:
2. Maryland is making a statement. Rutgers could have been the kind of team to give Maryland trouble, considering the strength of the Scarlet Knights' physical defense. But other than Connecticut, no one had an easier time Sunday than the Terps. A 20-point win and now a five-game winning streak means Maryland is now back in contention for a No. 1 seed.

Maryland Gives Rutgers a Taste of It's Own Medicine

What a week it was for the Terps. First BC was dispatched, then Virginia and finally Rutgers with each margin of victory getting wider and wider. The team seemed to play with a ton of passion yesterday and determined not to let Rutgers employ their will. Two more wins this week and the Terps reenter discussions for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

I thought the atmosphere at the game was great and Coach Frese announcement was a no brainer but I feel that each lady should get their own night. I even posted a second poll about it.

Marissa has been playing awesome and seems like she refuses to lose. In her last three games, she's gone to the line at least 10 times which shows off how aggressive she is being.

Suprised not to see Sa'de on the bench and the rumors abound that she left the program. We heard the same rumors back in December about Marah and she's still on the team. I guess we all have to wait for official word.


What I liked:- the defense. at one point during the game, I felt as if Rutgers was going to build us a new Comcast Center with the amount of bricks they were shooting. I think we forced Rutgers into a ton of bad shots and did a great job limiting their bigs from scoring inside. Dee blocking shots was also a welcome sight.
- the team's focus. Rutgers tried a few times to get back in the game and each time we went on a run and kept Rutgers at bay.

What I would like to see more of:- Rebounding and production on the inside. Rutgers was in foul trouble down low most of the game we still lost the rebounding battle. That shouldn't happen. Also, we would like to see the two posts score a little more. We will need it one day.
- class from Rutgers. fouling with 8 seconds left? shooting a three at the buzzer? it was a 20-point game.
- The starters on the bench at the end of games. The last two games have saw us with decent leads in the final minutes yet KT and Marissa are still on the court. They need rest especially with the ACC Tournament right around the corner.


Georgia Tech and Ekud this week. Two physical in your face defensive teams. Two wins would almost lock up a top 2 seed in the ACC Tournament.

Game 26: Rutgers (ESPN2)

Two days after a great victory the Terps are back on their home court looking to avenge last year's defeat at Rutgers. The game is part of ESPN2's February Frenzy, which is ESPN's way of showing how their tournament coverage will work. If you can't make the game, and why wouldn't you be there, ESPN will show the game. If you are outside Maryland, chances are you will catch snippets of the game on the wraparound coverage.

On a side note, FSU's win last night essentially eliminates UNC and Duke from the ACC title hunt unless FSU goes into a tailspin. FSU's toughest remaining game is Virginia, which is at home. If they lose that and we win out we win the ACC title. Duke doesn't have the tiebreaker and UNC has three conference losses.

Back to the game, Rutgers enters the game with a win over DIII Farmingdale minus Coach Stringer, who was at jury duty. Rutgers is having a down year as the Scarlet Knights are struggling to incorporate freshmen after the departure of Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson to the WNBA. As usual Rutgers relies on their defense to frustrate opponents as their offense is pretty much a bore. In their last seven games against DI opponents, they have scored over 60 once. They will press, trap, grab and do whatever they can to frustrate teams.

Record: 14-9
Common Opponents: Pittsburgh (L, 61-53)
PPG/OPP: 61.7/53.7
FG%/OPP:.422/.364
3FG%/OPP:.319/.297
RPG/OPP: 36.5/31.3
TOs/OPP: 16.0/17.2
Steals/OPP: 9.0/6.5

The Starters
- Epiphany Prince - Leads the team in points, steals, assists, shot attempts. Will shoot the 3, will take it to the hole. Shoots 43% from the floor and 31% from three. also 83% from the free throw line. She must be shut down.
- Brittany Ray - another guard who will take it inside and outside. Not as inclined as Prince to go to the hoop as she has only shot 50 foul shots all year. Shoots 38% from the floor, 37% from behind the arc and 80% from the line. Second on the team in steals, third in rebounding.
- Khadijah Rushdan - another guard like Brittany Ray. Shoots 39% from the floor, 39% from 3 (only taken 31 all year) and 65% from the line. third on the team in steals. Averages only 5.7 ppg. Can be a scoring factor if left alone.
- Heather Zurich - guard/forward. Primarily a jump shooter and not one of the better defensive players. Doesn't rebound much.
- Rashidat Junaid - Inserted in the starting line up to light a fire under Kia Vaughn who has struggled all year. Stays in the paint and hasn't taken a 3 all season. not a strong rebounder. Second on the team in blocks. Shies away from contact with only 28 fouls in 20 games.

The Bench
- Kia Vaughn. All-American candidate to start the year who now comes off the bench because of the way she has struggled all year. Somedays she shows up to play, somedays she doesn't. Lately, she has been showing up to play. Stays in the paint. Terrible free throw shooter. Leads the team in rebounding as she muscles her way for the ball. Leads the team in blocked shots. Must not let her push us around.
- Myia McCurdy - back up forward who won't shoot the 3. Helps on traps. Rarely gets into foul trouble.
- April Sykes, Brooklyn Pope, Nikki Speed, Chelsea Lee. the Freshman guards and forwards who really haven't really found their rolls on the team. Speed and Sykes can shoot the 3 and handle the ball. Pope can block shots. None of them play more than 15 minutes a game and score less than four points a game.

Keys to the Game
1. Don't let Rutgers dictate the tempo. A year ago, we were battling illness and Rutgers slowed the game down and we got frustrated. Like against UVA, we need to grab the ball and run. Rutgers can't keep up with us offensively.
2. Handle the press and the physical nature. Like I said, Rutgers plays streetball and knows it can get in your head. KT will be grabbed and hand checked every time she touches the ball. She needs to be smart and let let it affect her. Same goes with the newcomers in the paint.
3. Rebound. Dee and Kizer have to be on the glass and not give up so many second chance points.
4. Control Prince. Prince is the star of the team. Keep her under wraps and the offensive will struggle even more.
5. Attack Vaughn. When Vaughn enters, Dee and Kizer need to attack her and get her out of the game.


Should be a fun game. Rutgers may keep it close for a while, but our offense should wear them down.

Terps Avenge Earlier Defeat at Hands at Cavaliers

Last night was how the game in Charlottesville should have went. Let Virginia hang around and then blitz them at the right time to build a huge lead and come away with a victory. Coach Ryan decided she was going to run and gun with the Terps except we brought a machine gun and she brought pistol. In Maryland's losses this year it was teams who locked down on them defensively and forced bad shots, not played matador defense. I will take the win anyway we can especially when it adds up to another 20-win season and makes bballfan over at Rebkell pissed.

By my calculations a win by UNC tonight puts us first place in the league. UNC and us would be 2-1 against FSU, Duke and each other and since we hold the win over UNC it gives us the tiebreaker.

another great game by Coleman who is rapidly closing in on the 2,000 point mark. I will do my best to update the record chasers this weekend.

One of my loyal readers would like me to be more positive so here it goes:

What I liked
- Coleman's fire and intensity. Whoever gave her this recent pep talk needs to keep it up. She has played awesome the last several games.
- The backdoor cuts. It adds a new dimension to the offense and stops us from relying only on jump shots
- Taking the ball to the bucket. I think KT made more lay ups today than in her entire career. She keeps that up it will free up more opportunities.
- The lack of turnovers. Only saw a few lazy passes. some were telegraphed and some were players not coming to the ball.
- The defense. Littles and Wright were forced to take shots they didn't want to and were hounded on every play.

What I would have liked to see more of
- Rebounding. Getting outrebounded by 13 is not good and imagine what would have happened had we won the battle of the boards. One thing I noticed is that Kizer and Liles don't leave their feet to rebound. It seems as if they wait for the ball to come to them. That was ok in HS, but in college you need to be first to the ball. Rebounding limits the fastbreak and second chance points, which was about 28-4 last night.

Now on to Sunday for a matinee with struggling Rutgers.

Game 25: Virginia

Game number two this week and the rematch with the Cavaliers. 13 days ago we went down to JPJ Arena and looked in control for the first 25 minutes of the game, but then Virginia rattled off a 23-8 run and never looked back ending our winning streak against UVA. Tonight's game has a lot of importance in the race for the ACC title. A win keeps us alive for the #1 seed and regular season title as FSU plays UNC tomorrow night. A loss drops us to fifth and gives UVA the tiebreaker. We can't afford to play 4 games in 4 days.

Virginia
Record: 19-5
Conference: 5-3
Schedule since the last time we played: Longwood (W, 88-50), Duke (L, 81-67), Virginia Tech (W, 69-61)
PPG/Opp.: 74.0/63.4
FG%/Opp: 40.5/39.0
3FG%/Opp: 28.0/30.4
RPG/Opp: 43.9/37.4
TOs/Opp: 16.4/21.2

The Starters
Monica Wright - a do everything combo player who leads the team in scoring, steals, assists and field goals attempted. She is the team. She has taken 240 shots more than the next player on the team. Not the best three-pointer shooter but when she gets on a roll she rarely misses. Loves to provide help on the trap and come away with the steal.
Lyndra Littles - forward who missed the first half of the year due to grades (at Duke they would raise a banner for her). In 15 games, she has taken 236 shots. That works out to over 15 shots per game. She can take it inside and if left open will shoot the foul line jumper and top of the circle three-pointer. Second on the team in rebounds. She's the reason we lost the first time as we couldn't stop her.
Aisha Mohammed - Tall, Lanky center whose game has really improved this year. Leads the team in rebounding at nearly 10 per game. Shoots over 50% from the floor, but does almost all of her work in the paint. Can block shots but not as bring of a threat as you would imagine. Shoots only 59.1 percent from the free throw line.
Britnee Milner - the team's point guard when Wright lets her touch the ball. Fiesty defender who relies more on driving to the bucket than shooting the 3 (13.6%). Must be contained.
Kelly Hartig - placeholder in the starting line up. Has taken 51 shots all year. Mainly in there to block shots and pass the ball.

The Bench:Ariana Moorer - back up PG and outside shooting threat. Shoots 24.6 from 3 and 100 more shots inside the paint.
Chelsea Shine - back up post player who usually replaces Hartig. Doesn't shoot the 3. Leads the team in blocked shots. Shoots 42.1% from the floor.
Whitney Edwards - another back up guard who shoots more from the inside than the outside. Sometimes she plays, sometimes she doesn't.
Kristen London - another guard, but she seems more apt to shoot from deep.
Jayna Hartig - She displays the same skill set as her twin.
UVA's rotation aside from Moorer and Shine is a mystery. I think she just looks at the bench and points.

Keys to the Game:
1. Shut down Littles and Mohammed. Wright is going to get her points no matter what Maryland does. If you can keep Littles and Mohammed under 15 each we should win. They make the team go.
2. Rebound the ball. At their place we were outrebounded by six. Control the glass and limit the offensive opportunities.
3. Make smart passes. During UVA's run, I think I counted 3-4 lazy passes which just fell into the arms of UVA players.
4. Watch for the trap. The Cavs will bring the trap meaning that someone needs to come to Kristi and help get the ball. Doing that makes it a 4 on 3 opportunity.
5. Slow the run outs. UVA loves to grab the rebound and start the fast break. This means that on missed shots, Sa'de and KT must drop back to prevent easy baskets.


If we play composed, we will win.

See you tomorrow for the recap.

Terps Survive Eagles

Another game against BC, another win. That's eight straight against the former Big East team and moves Maryland into a tie for second in the ACC Standings. It also moves the Terps to seven wins meaning another .500 or better record in the conference for the sixth straight year, I think maybe Duke and UNC can also say that.

As far as the game goes, I thought our defense was terrible. 52.4% is not acceptable this late in the season. Swords had her way with us and then we let Rusin have a career day. Our transition defense was even worse as BC looked to run every chance they got, something I also noticed against Virginia.

We were up 12 with 5:41 left and I figured the game was over. I was wrong. Nearly three minutes later BC was only down three and we looked frazzled. After trading baskets, KT drained a long three to put the Terps up six and Marissa sank four free throws to make it another happy trip home from Boston.

Marissa played one of the better games of her career finishing with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. More importantly she went 10-for-10 from the line. She also moved into the 1,000 rebound club.

Turnovers were down, which is a plus, but our road struggles continue. Luckily the next two games are at home and they are both big ones - Virginia and Rutgers.

One thing that also concerned me during the telecast was when KT said she was going to be more assertive the rest of the year. I hope more assertive means finding the open man and attacking the rim and not throwing up a three because she feels we need it. I do feel she has been more shot happy this year when we struggle.

Onto to the rematch with the Cavaliers.

Game 23: at Boston College

After a short trip back home, the Terps hit the road again for a Monday night match up against Boston College. The game is on TV, but most ACC fans will be watching UNC versus Duke on ESPN2. We probably want UNC to win to help us move up further in the ACC standings.

Boston College has been one of the early suprises of the ACC season, but they have played a fairly easy schedule which led to their high record. They are 9-1 at home and that one loss was to Notre Dame in the non-conference portion of the schedule. BC had won four straight before losing to Duke and Florida State last week.

Quick Facts
Record: 17-6
ACC Record: 5-3
PPG (Opponents): 70.6 (62.0)
Rebounds (Opponents): 42.0 (33.4)
FG% (Opponents): 44.5 (37.5)
3FG% (Opponents): 34.1 (33.9)

The Starters:
Mickel Picco - a junior guard who leads the team in scoring. Has taken nearly 80 more shots than the next person on the team and knocks down almost 50% of her shots. also a strong threat from 3, nailing 38.5% of those attempts. Can't let her heat up
Carolyn Swords - 6'6 post player who spends most of her time near the hoop scoring on lay ups and grabbing rebounds. She doesn't go to the free throw line much. Leads the team in blocked shots as well as personal fouls.
Stefanie Murphy - 6'4 post player who has more range than Swords. She also blocks shots but is foul prone.
Ayla Brown - a 6'0 combo guard/forward. Fourth on the team in scoring and third in rebounding. Will shoot the 3, but isn't great at it.
Jaclyn Thoman - 5'9 point guard. Rarely shoots the ball and even rarer is when she takes the ball to the hoop. Can be pressured to turn the ball over

The Bench:
Brittany Johnson and Corey Rusin are interchangeable at the guard spots, as neith does much . Johnson is more athletic and will drive to the hoop and force turnovers.
Lauren Whitehurt - back up post player. plays about 10 minutes a game, takes very few shots, doesn't shoot the 3.
Mia Nickson - another back up post player similar to Whitehurst.
Victoria Jones and Victoria Gill round out the back up guards. Both are ballhawks.

Keys to the Game
1. Attack the post. Take down the two big trees inside and the middle will open up wide.
2. Play with intensity. The last few road games have been struggles for the Terps and it's time to show we can win on the road easily.
3. Guard Picco.
4. Take care of the ball.
5. Rebound. BC will use it's height to keep us off the glass and Kizer and Liles will have to fight for every rebound.

What to watch for
1. Marissa needs seven rebounds for 1,000

Hot Shooting Sends Wolf Pack Running For The Hills

With the cold temperatures outside, Maryland decided the best way to keep everyone warm was to try and set the nets on fire and they nearly accomplished that in the first half last.

Over the last 11:09 of the first half, the Terps made nine straight shots and 10 of their last 11. They missed eight shots the entire half and finished shooting 70%. I thought they did a great job of finding the open shooter and not forcing shots.

I thought the defense was decent, but we struggled to contain Beal and should have been able to outrebound this team by more than 8. We had a our typical out of halftime lull, but Kizer and Coleman made sure the lead never dipped under double-digits.

It was good to see Yemi and Kim get playing time, but I wish Kim would have seen more time and don't get why Kristi is playing 34 minues in a 20-point blow out. At some point she needs to rest and we need to develop past her.

Mingo and Marah must have read the blog as both scored in double figures and Mingo looked more confident.

Congrats to Marissa for passing Shay and staying on pace for 2000 points.

The postgame ceremony for Harper was outstanding and her speech was awesome. Two more jerseys from that team to retire.

Game 22: NC State

Fresh off one of the most exciting victories in recent years, the Terps are back in action tonight against NC State. The Wolfpack enter tonight's game with a record of 9-12 and 1-5 in the ACC. They recently won their first conference game by defeating Virginia Tech. NC State has been playing with a heavy heart though as legendary Coach Kay Yow passed away less than two weeks ago.

Quick Facts:
Common Opponents: UNC (L, 66-75), Florida State (L, 59-64), Duke (L, 58-61), Virginia Tech (W, 57-46)
PPG(Opponents): 60.8 (58.2)
Rebounding (Opponents): 41.6 (40.5)
FG Percentage (Opponents): .375 (.361)
Three FG Percentage (Opponents): .274 (.280)

The Starters:
- Shayla Fields: a 5-9 senior guard. Averages 17.6 points per game and is the primary shooter as she has taken almost 100 shots more than the next person on the team. Shoots .302 from behind the arc. Expected to play the whole games as she rarely gets into foul trouble.
- Nikitta Gartrell: more of a slashing guard. She does most of her damage inside the arc and is third on the team in rebounding.
- Sharnise Beal: a 5-9 junior guard, who has missed eight games this season. She is third in scoring and like Gartrell does most of her damage inside the arc. Although she has made 6 of 15 shots from 3 this season. Not much of a distributor as she has 18 assists in 13 games.
- Lucy Ellison: team's leading rebounder at 6.7 per game. Despite starting every game, rarely shoots the ball and her 62 shots rank seventh on the squad. Has only blocked three shots all year.
- Inga Muciniece: 6-5 center. Taken fewer shots than Ellison, but is second on the team in blocks. Only picked up 10 fouls all year. Either she's a matador or plays some of the best defense in the country. Only at Duke can you find a starter with 10 fouls or less during the year.

Off the Bench:
- Bonae Holston: Freshman forward who is the main inside threat and third in rebounding. Not a great rebounder
- Tia Bell: Local product who is athletic and leads the team in shots blocked. Only shoots .398 percent and rarely from 3.
- Brittany Strachan: Three-point threat off the bench, rarely drives to the bucket.

Keys to the game:
- Guard the perimeter. This is where NC State does most of it's damage
- Attack the inside. NC State's posts are weak and we should be able to score at will.
- Don't let up. NC State isn't a high octane team, they use their defense to keep them in games. If you let them stay around the game gets uncomfortable (see UNC, Duke).
- Control the pace. NC State will slow it down, we need to play fast but smart.

What to watch for:
- A win gives the Terps 30 straight at home.
- Marissa needs 12 points and 12 rebounds to reach third on the scoring list and 1,000 rebounds.
- Laura Harper has her jersey sent to the rafters after the game.

If you can't be at the game because of the weather than you can catch it on ACC Select or WMUC.

I'm Back and Ready to Comment

After finally getting the chance to watch three games in a row, I got the itch to come back to the blog and start posting my thoughts again. Starting with tomorrow's game against NC State, I will do my best to break down the team before and after the game.

Here are my thoughts on the team thus far and I apologize if they are negative as I expect a lot from the team.

1. I like that Kizer and Liles have a jump shot and aren't afraid to use it. I do wish that they wouldn't shoot if the other was away from the basket.
2. I love Liles athleticism but sometimes she needs to slow down and not force a shot.
3. If we play defense like we did against FSU and UNC, it's hard to beat us. If we don't then we will lose. We must hold opponents under 70.
4. I heard the rumors about Strickland wanting out and if she still feels that way, let her go. Except for the two games where she came back from deciding to stay with the team her entire game consists of running down the court, standing in a corner and waiting for a pass. She barely rebounds and isn't a good enough ball handler to make a move towards the rim.
5. I think last year's lack of playing time killed Mingo's confidence as she looks like she goes out there to do something positive so she won't get pulled.
6. KT has regressed as a PG. When we get down in games, she panics and tries to take over (i.e. UVA) instead of running the offense. Against FSU, she had several crucial TOs down the stretch because she was trying to do too much.
7. Coleman needs to assert herself more. That drive to the basket against FSU was a thing of beauty.
8. Our transition defense is terrible. 3 people crash the glass, 1 sits in the corner and thus KT is left alone to often guard the run out. This killed us against UVA.
9. We need better hands. I have seen too many rebounds batted around like a volleyball. They need to be grabbed and held onto tight. Maybe Lang and Harp spoiled us.
10. Kizer and Liles can't be afraid to block a shot. I know that we need them inside but too many times I watch them play decent defense and the ball go through their hands because they are afraid to pick up a foul.
11. I like that when teams hound KT, Coleman gets the ball, but then that limits us on the glass.
12. I would expect to see more triangle and 2 until MD can show that someone other than KT and Coleman will show up routinely.

Overall, I am a little disappointed in the team. The ACC is down this year and it seems on some nights we just don't bring it. We should have beaten Duke, but the UVA loss shouldn't happen with two veteran leaders.

I know it comes off harsh, but judging by the poll on the left some of the expect a deep run into the tournament and I don't see that unless the D is better and we take better control of the ball.