Louisville Ends Maryland's Season in the Elite 8

I was hoping the season wouldn't end for at least another week, but unfortunately that didn't happen last night. Louisville played a heck of a game and the Terps let the emotion of seeing Coach Walz get to them throughout the game. Congrats to Louisville, they deserved it.

Momma always said if you don't have something nice to say then don't say anything at all. Instead let's focus on the positives.

- 3 Elite 8 appearances in four years
- 2 2000 point scorers
- Marissa is one of 5 players in ACC History to be among the Top 10 in points and rebounds.
- KT finished second all-time in the ACC in assists.

Thanks again to all my readers this year and I will post sporadically over the next several weeks as news becomes available.

Game 36: Louisville (Elite 8)

For the second straight year and third time in four years we are among the final 8 teams in the women's college basketball world. Like last year, the fate of the ACC rest in our hands. Brenda is 1-1 in these situations and today's game could be the most important game of her coaching career. Across the way from her stands former assistant Jeff Walz or as I call him Benedict Arnold. If you look at these two pictures you probably can't tell the difference:


Like Benedict Arnold, Walz is known as a great general but was disappointed that instead of being named associate head coach he wasn't named King of Assistant Coaches or Co-Head Coach and thus spent the 2006-07 season looking for work rather than helping this team win another title. And again like BA, he found solace in a team that wears red.

Louisville or the British enter today's game with a record of 32-4 with two of their losses coming to UConn, one to Nevada and one to West Virginia featuring a great Patriot Joanna Bernabei (she left the team to take care of kids). Louisville is know for defense and their relentless pressure. It will essentially be a game of shadow. Here's Kristi, here's a Card. Here's Marissa, Here's a Card. They use their defense to create their offense. One of his favorite calls is Mad Dog in which two-three players swarm the ball handler, hoping to create panic and turnovers.

Arnold is a great motivator as his rag tag bunch has really two players and the team feels that they will never lose. He also knows every nook and cranny about our players. How they react, their moves, etc. It makes them even tougher to scout.

PPG/OPP: 71.5/56.9
FG%/OPP: .433/.368
3FG%/OPP: .332/.265
FT%/OPP: .728/.649
RPG/OPP: 40.7/34.0
APG/OPP: 12.8/11.1
TOS/OPP: 18.1/21.7
STEALS/OPP: 11.0/7.6
BLOCKS/OPP: 3.2/2.9

The Starters
- #35 Angel McCoughtry. Hands down one of the top 5 players in the country and battling Marissa for possible #1 pick in the draft. She can do it all. Leads the team in points, rebounds, steals and blocks. Has made nearly more shots than the next person on the team has taken. Shoots .315 from behind the arc. When she gets hot look out. Can be a head case if things aren't going her way. Heady player who will fly across the lane to get a steal or a block. Must limit her touches and attack her on defense to get her in foul trouble. If you ever wanted to see what it would look like to against a more defensive-minded Marissa, this is your chance.
- #13 Candyce Bingham. 6'1 senior forward. Great complement to Angel. Second on the team in nearly every stat. Has taken only 24 threes all year and made nine of them. Can't leave her open as she will shoot it from there. Loves to bang on the boards and look for position. Must box her out.
- #50 Desiree Byrd. 5'9 sophomore guard. converted shooting guard now playing the point. Taken only 49 threes all year and sometimes has to be begged to shoot the ball because she will be so wide open. Not a big factor on the glass. She must be hounded to throw the system out of whack.
- #15 Tiera Stephen. 5'7 freshman guard. In there as a defensive stopper as she doesn't do much on offense. Averaging only 1.0 point per game and 0.8 rebounds per game. Has taken only 4 threes all year.
- #4 Gwen Rucker. converted volleyball player as a 6'1 freshman forward. Mainly in there to help rebound and block shots. only 68 shots all year, including four from behind the arc (made 2) and shooting .324.

The Bench
- #45 Keisha Hines. 6'2 sophomore forward. The team's main post presence when she is in there. Shoots 54.6 percent from the floor but doesn't shoot 3s. Rebounds at a 4.7 clip. Will get into foul trouble so she must be attacked.
- #33 Monique Reid. 6'1 freshman forward. Started early on the in season but now comes off the bench. Averages 5.9 points per game and grabs 3.9 rebounds. will shoot the 3 if left open, but more likely to attack around the rim.
- #11 Becky Burke. 5'11 freshman guard. The team's main shooting threat off the bench. 103 of her 137 shots have come from behind the arc and shes made 31.1% of them. Can be a streaky shooter and is a head case. Make sure she misses the first couple and she gets gun shy. Not a big help on the glass.
- #14 Janae Howard. 6'1 freshman forward. Plays about 8 minutes a game and will shoot the 3. Not a big help on the glass.
- #23 Mary Jackson. 5'10 freshman guard. Not a deep shooting threat and more likely to take oyu off the dribble than anything else. Has attempted nearly as many free throws as she has shots.
- #24 Laura Terry. 6'1 sophomore forward. Still not recovered from midseason knee injury but can shoot from deep if healthy.

Keys to the Game
- Take care of the ball. The pressure will probably come during warm ups and we need to be smart about passing the ball shorter rather than cross court.
- Attack the trap. Stay away from corners and sidelines and when the trap comes, go through it rather than stand there and accept it.
- Rebound the ball. Louisville will have almost everyone crash the glass and we need to keep them from getting rebounds and put backs as that will allow the Cards to set up their traps.
- Get the ball and go. The quicker we get down the court, the less time they can set up their defense.
- Take care of the ball.
- Someone else must step up. Marissa and KT cannot be counted on to score 50+ every game.
- Shut down either Bingham or Angel. We haven't been successful in shooting down team's dynamic duos, but hopefully today we can at least shut down one of them.
- Play cool and collected. We seemed nervous at the start of the game on Saturday. Just go out and have fun.
- Don't overthink. This one is for the coaching staff. Don't try to think what Walz is thinking. Just let the kids play. It's not about you.
- Eat Kids

In closing, this will be one of the hardest games from me to watch. While I give Walz a hard time for leaving, I know he made the right choice. Plus I learned a few years ago that the staff followed this page from time to time and hence why there are always jabs at him. If I didn't like the guy, I wouldn't have an RSS feed for Louisville on the right. I want Maryland to win with all my heart, but if they lose at least I know I have a team to root for in the Final Four.

Then again the U.S. did beat the British after Arnold switched sides.

Go Terps Continue the March to the Arch.

Marissa's Unbelievable Performance Leads Terps to Elite 8

It's been almost 18 hours since the game and I am still in awe of what I saw yesterday. The 42 points were the third most by a Maryland men's or women's player. Marissa refused to let the team lose. As Wirth was dominating us, Marissa went to the coaches and asked to cover her. She's the MVP of the team and it's about time people mention her in the same vein as Maya Moore.

For most of the game yesterday, I was having Stanford flashbacks as Vandy was making shot after shot. Every time we would come back, The Dores would sink another bucket and with the way we were playing D I figure the trip to Raleigh would be a short one. In the end, the defense clamped down when it need to and Vanderbilt didn't haven an answer for #25.

And now it's on the Elite 8 again with a match up again Benedict Arnold aka Jeff Walz. After a failure of a season in 2007, he decided to jump ship instead of help us get back to the promise land. Since then we have only lost 8 games, and Coach Park has helped fix most of our defensive issues. I hope we prove to Walz that he made a mistake.

Things I liked
- Marissa. 42 and 15? Are you kidding me?
- Kim's effort on the glass. Not the tallest player and limited by her knee injury she pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds. She gets better each time I watch her.
- The defensive lockdown. Over the last 26:28 of the game, Maryland outscored Vandy, 63-41. When we needed stops we got them.

Things I would like to see more
- Better composure. We came out at the start of both halves flat and disinterested. i was really disappointed that after we cut the gap to 3 at half, we let Vandy rebuild the lead again. Teams aren't going to roll over for us anymore.
- Production from players not named Coleman and Toliver. Kizer hasn't played like the ACC Rookie of the Year the entire postseason. Marah's picture showed up on my carton of milk this morning.
- Defense. Going under screens and getting blown past on defense, isn't good. We cannot be afraid to challenge shots. If it's middle of the second half and our posts don't at least 1 foul it means we aren't challenging shots.
- Officiating. I think we got the D crew as I couldn't tell what was a foul and what wasn't. KT's charge in the first half was terrible and then at some points the refs would let them play and then again start calling touch fouls.

Back tomorrow with a preview after scouting who we could play in the Final Four.

Game 35: Vanderbilt (NCAA Sweet 16)

It's a quick turnaround after our game on Tuesday as we play again on Saturday. Vanderbilt hasn't played since Monday. This marks the second straight season that we have played Vandy in the Sweet 16. Last year we beat them 80-66 as we swamped them with defense and a quick tempo

The Commodores have won five straight including the SEC Tournament. They sit at 26-8 and among the common opponents were Virginia Tech (W, 72-43) and Mississippi State (L, 61-66). They are known for switches defenses to try and throw teams off. Expect to see some junk defenses along with what looked like some match up zone. Since the injury to Hanna Toumi, they have had to go small as they play four guards and one post.


PPG/OPP: 71.8/58.3
FG%/OPP: .456/.404
3FG%/OPP: .359/.322
FT%/OPP: .733/.683
RPG/OPP: 34.5/33.8
ASSISTS/OPP: 15.4/11.7
TOS/OPP: 14.6/20.3
STEALS/OPP: 10.2/5.3
BLOCKS/OPP: 1/9/2.5

Starters
- #34 Christina Wirth. 6'1 senior guard/forward. At this point, the team's main presence in the paint. Leads the team in scoring and is second in rebounding. Main offensive threat having taken almost 200 more shots than the next person on the team. Will shoot the 3 and does it at a .387 clip. second on the team in steals. shoots 73.5% from the line.
- # 23 Merideth Marsh. a 5'9 junior guard. second on the team in scoring and mainly an outside shooter as 201 of her 293 shots have taken place outside the three-point line, where she shoots .393. Doesn't help rebound that much. Only missed five of 48 shots from the charity stripe.
- #2 Jennifer Resper. 5'9 senior guard. she has become the new post player with the loss of Tuomi and while small she can do a great job posting up bigger players and then using a quick move to take them to the basket. Has only taken two 3s all year and shoots 50% from the floor. Leads the team in steals and is second in assists. I think she is the heart of soul of the team. Can get into foul trouble.
- #20 Jessica Mooney. 5'8 junior guard. Averages 7.6 points per game. Will shoot the 3 if open, but only makes 25%. not a big rebounder with only 2.2 per game. Leads the team in blocked shots, meaning she comes from behind to get the ball. Third in steals.
- #22 Jence Rhodes. 5'11 sophomore guard. Averages 6.1 points per game. Only taken four 3s all year, more likely to dribble and drive to the bucket. Leads the team in assists and is second in blocked shots. Shoots 84% from the line.

The Bench
- #24 Tia Gibbs. 5'9 freshman guard. mainly stays away from the paint as she has only taken 26 free throws all year. Will shoot the 3 and makes .338 from there and has taken 48 shots inside the arc. Not a big rebounder.
- #3 Chanel Chisholm. 5'11 sophomore guard. Doesn't shoot the 3. makes 50% of her shots. will help on the glass and create steals.
- #5 Lauren Lueders. 5'8 junior guard. Averages 8 minutes per game. Mainly a 3-point shooter. Doesn't help rebound. more of a point guard.
- #12 Jordan Coleman. 5'11 freshman forward. Has taken 25 shots all year and only plays only 5.8 minutes per game. Not a three-point threat.

Keys to the Game
- Rebound. Again we have a height advantage and we need to control the boards on both ends of the floor.
- Control Wirth. The offense flows through her. Limit her touches and force her to play defense and it will limit Vandy's chances.
- Dictate the pace. We can't let Vandy set up their defense and the best way to do that is to play fast. They have given up more than 70 only five times this year.
- We need a third scorer. Just like against Utah, someone else has to step up. Last year against Vandy, Marah had a huge game and we are going to need her and Lynetta to show what made them H.S. AAs.
- Play defense and limit the turnovers.
- EAT KIDS

Before we start, we will know who we play. I hope it's not Benedict Arnold and his Cardinals.

Maryland Heads to Raleigh, Utah Heads Back Home

For the third time in four years, Maryland is headed to the Sweet 16. Unlike the previous two trips, this one was a lot easier as both wins came via double digit and neither game was in doubt with 10 minutes to go. Now it's time for the real fun to begin as each time we will play from here on it, won't be as easy as the first two. While we are playing in ACC Country, we have never played at the RBC Center so the venue will be new to us.

Utah gave us a tough game at the start seemingly making every shot. At one point they built a seven-point lead, but then Maryland buckled down on defense and grabbed neither every rebound (Marissa had more rebounds than Utah in the first half and the Utes had only 4 rebounds in the last 14 minutes of the half). Offensively the team clicked and after a few blinks the Terps were up 8 and then a few blinks later they were up double digits.

The second half seemed more like a walk-through as we only shot 22%, but our rebounding power kept Utah at bay.

It was disappointing that KT and Marissa missed their last shots at Comcast Center, then again they missed their first shots too.

Standing between us and St. Lo is a rematch with Vandy from last year and either Benedict Arnold and the Redcoats or Baylor.

What I liked
- Marissa's aggressiveness on the glass. 18 rebounds is impressive no matter who you are playing. Every time I looked up she was grabbing another board. I was hoping for 20 but that's me being selfish.
- The play of Dee Liles. Her athleticism was on full display as she grabbed 17 boards and was flying all over the place.
- the defense. We really limited Utah's looks at the basket. It didn't hurt that #1 decided not to shoot the entire game. Back-to-back games of holding opponents under 60.

What I would like to see more
- Kizer establish herself. Two NCAA games and she has been invisible. We need her to do more.
- Better execution in the second half. We shot 22% in the second half and if not for our rebounding, Utah would have made it a lot closer. KT seemed to force it a bit and we should have kept going inside.
- Less Turnovers. 16 is too much against a team that didn't force the action. We had a lot of unforced TOs.

A few days off now until the Sweet 16.

Game 34: Utah (NCAA Second Round)

After a day of rest, we are back in action this time playing Utah in what will be Kristi and Marissa's last ever home game at the Comcast Center. Four years of memories have come down to this one day. I am sure there will be very few dry eyes when the clock hits 00:00 tonight.

Before the preview just two quick points:
1. Starting tonight, every one we will play from here to the Final Four will have motivation against us. Utah, Vandy, LSU, South Dakota State and Baylor have all been beaten by Kristi and Marissa during their careers and we all know Benedict Arnold would love a crack at Maryland.
2. With Tennessee's loss to Ball State(Don't know if you had heard, ESPN barely mentions this), the Lady Vols now own the record for earliest exit by a defending champ. We previously held that mark.

Utah was the winner of the Mountain West Conference Tournament and enters the second round with a record of 23-9. Among the common opponents for them and us: South Dakota State (L, 70-58), Virginia (L, 65-57), TCU (W, 73-63; L, 53-47).

The Utes like to run a ton of screens on offense and continually attack the hoop. The scored at will against Nova on Sunday. on defense they play tight man-to-man defense and will do their best to frustrate opponents. Nova was a great three-point shooting team and Utah took that part out of their game the other day. Utah gave us fits three years ago, but then again almost the entire team had the flu and I haven't heard that we are suffering from it again.

PPG/OPP: 63.3/54.7
FG%/OPP: .443/.342
3FG%/OPP: .347/.289
FT%/OPP: .803/.720
RPG/OPP: 38.8/30.8
APG/OPP: 14.4/10.9
TOPG/OPP: 17.7/13.4
SPG/OPP: 7.0/8.5
BLOCKS/OPP: 3.3/2.8

The Starters
- #15 Morgan Warburton. a 5'11 senior guard. Leads the team in scoring at 18.6 per game. Shoots 43% from the floor and 39% from behind the arc and 90% from the line. leads the team in assists and turnovers and is second in steals. Will rebound the ball as she gets 6.3 per game. Played in the Elite 8 game.
- #2 Kalee Whipple. 6' junior forward. Second on the team in scoring (16.8), assists (99) and turnovers (109). Shoots 44% from the floor, 37.4% from 3 and 77.2% from the line. has taken more threes than Warburton. rebounds 6.2 per game. Leads the team in steals but that tends to get her in foul trouble as she has fouled out 5 times this year.
- #31 Katie King. 6'1 senior forward. Averages 11.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Stays mainly inside the arc making 57.2% of her shots. Has shot 4 threes this season making only one. Is a 92% free throw shooter but has only taken 73 foul shots, which tells me she doens't go after contact. second on the team in blocks.
- #22 Halie Sawyer. 6'1 junior forward. Averages 7.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (leads team) per game.Shoots 42.8% from the floor and 65.1% from the line. Has taken 28 threes this season and made only 4. leads the team in blocked shots. Has fouled out of 3 games.
- #1 Janita Badon. 5'6 freshman guard. Didn't start the entire year until postseason play. Averages 3.3 points per game and has taken only 94 shots the entire year (the first four have taken 200+). Made 6 of 30 threes and is third on the team in assists. makes 60.6% of her free throws. will help rebound.


The Bench
- #5 Hannah Stephens. 5'8 freshman guard. was the starter until the postseason started. Like Baden she rarely shoots the ball, but it seems like she liked to shoot the 3 more than Badon did as 40 of her 72 shots have come from behind the arc. Doesn't really rebound.
- #23 Deanne Stevenson. 6'3 senior center. In there to help rebound. Has only taken 22 shots all year.
- #20 Sasha McKinnon. 6'0 junior guard. Three-point shooting threat.
- #10 Josi McDermott. 6'0 freshman guard. Has taken 16 shots all year, 4 of 6 from behind the arc.

Keys to the Game
- Dictate the Tempo. Utah will want to play slow to let their defense settle. Three years ago that worked because we had a short bench, this year it shouldn't. Grab the ball and beat them down the court before they can set up. Same goes for defense. Force Utah to play faster than they are used to. The Utes haven't given up more than 63 points in 2009 and haven't scored more than 79/
- Rebound the ball. Again we have a height advantage at nearly every spot. Rebounding allows us to pick up the pace and prevents second chance points.
- Switch on screens. Utah will run their players through screen after screen hoping to free up the offense. Against Nova, I saw a few players run the same the circular route over and over until they got a free look at the hoop. We either have to switch or hedge them to disrupt the passing lanes.
- Attack the inside. Kizer and Liles need to have big games to free up the middle even more.
- Don't make this about you. I hope Coach Park doesn't make it his mission to embarass the Utes. He's at a new school now and he doesn't need to prove to the old staff that he is so much better than them. Just coach the game like a normal one.
- Have Fun.
- Eat Kids


After our game you can also watch LSU-Louisville and Baylor-SDSU to see who else is in our Regional.

Terps' Speed Wilts Ivy League's Dartmouth

1 down, 3 to go in Maryland's March to the Arch or Arc as Marissa calls it. The Terps finally hit the court after nearly 14 days off and the rust showed. Luckily, Dartmouth seemed to be in awe of us and missed several shots early. Also, KT was on fire in the first half as she matched the Big Green's first half total. It was great though to see the starters on the bench laughing it up as the game entered the final minutes. I hope we can see that 5 more times this season.

Now it's on to Utah, which was the only upset in the Raleigh Regional (If you call 9 over 8 an upset). Baylor struggled with UTSA as Coack Mulkey was in the hospital, but the higher seeds rolled in the other games.

What I liked
- KT's aggressiveness. She definitely attacked the paint more than I have seen her and she knew others were struggling. We didn't need another close early game which has been our MO.
- The Rebounding. We had the height advantage and we used. an 18 board advantage is great no matter who you play.
- The Traps. The 3/4 court trap seemed to throw Dartmouth off a bit and allowed to pick up the pace on our offense.
- Everyone got involved. Mingo who has been MIA the last half of the year scored eight points and maybe will have some confidence if we need her again.

What I would like to see more
- Another scorer. We can't keep trying to win games without a viable third option. The posts definitely need to score more than 15 points combined when we have an advantage inside.
- Better defense. Dartmouth was able to drive and cut it's way to the hoop most of the game. Maybe it was rust, but not everyone is going to miss layups.


Sorry for the delay, I got caught up with the UT-BSU game and Baylor-UTSA.

Game 33: Dartmouth (NCAA Tournament First Round)

After a two-week hiatus, we are back in action and this time it's win or the season is over. Luckily for us we get to play at the Friendly Confines of the Comcast Center where we have won 34 straight games. I am hope the place is rocking.

Earlier this week, Toliver and Coleman were named Second Team ESPN.com All-Americans, which is a joke, and are still alive for the State Farm All-America Team. Somehow Toliver was the only one who made the CBS Sportsline All-America Teams.

Dartmouth won the Ivy League to earn their bid into the NCAA Tournament. This is the second time we have played an Ivy League team in the first round in recent memory as we played Harvard a few years ago. The Big Green enters the game with a record of 18-10 and 13-1 in the Ivy League. Their last game was a win over Harvard on March 10, which essentially decided the league title. Their only common opponent was BC, which they lost to by 34.

PPG/OPP: 56.8/55.1
FG%:/OPP: .376/.367
3FG%/OPP: .323/.314
FT%/OPP: .696/.709
RPG/OPP: 38.7/33.4
ASSISTS/OPP: 9.8/12.1
TOS/OPP: 18.6/16.9
STEALS/OPP: 8.2/7.6
BLOCKS/OPP: 3.3/3.5

The Starters:
-Brittney Smith: a 6'1 sophomore forward who leads the team in scoring at 14.1, rebounding at 8.2 rpg and blocks at 40. She doesn't shoot 3s and only make 60 percent of her free throws. She can get into foul trouble.
-Koren Schram: a 5'7 senior guard who is second on the team in scoring at 12.1. Like Smith she has taken 307 shots this year with more than half coming from outside the arc where she shoots 34.1%. She doesn't attack the paint that much having only taken 80 foul shots. Leads the team in assists and steals and will help on the glass.
- Darcy Rose: 6'2 senior forward/center who is third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding. Doesn't shoot 3s but shoots 74.6 from the free throw line. Can get into foul trouble. Doesn't really block shots.
- Margaret Smith: a 6'1 junior guard/forward. 4th on the team in scoring and third in rebounding. Mainly stays inside the arc but has taken 39 shots from outside this year and made a third of them. Has only attempted 51 free throws all year.
- Meghan McFee: 5'10 sophomore guard. Has started 16 games this year. Shoots 34% from 3. Very rarely attacks the bucket. Will help distribute the ball. Third on the team in steals.

The Bench
- Betsy Williams: 6'0 junior guard. Shoots 27. 3% from the floor and 30.8% from behind the arc. She basically rotates with McFree at the guard slot. Doesn't help rebound that much. shoots 65.4% from the line.
- Cassie Cooper: 6'2 sophomore forward. Plays 15 minutes per game and has taken only 95 shots all year. will take the three (has taken 20), not a big rebounder, but a better passer.
- No one else on the bench has played more than 19 games this season or more than 5 minutes per game.

Keys to the Game
- Take the ball and go. Dartmouth has scoredmore than 70 only twice in 2009. They cannot keep up with us if we play our game. We can't let them dictate the pace on either end.
- Rebound. We have a little height advantage and she be able to use it.
- Take care of the ball. Just because it is Dartmouth doesn't mean we can play bad. We need to bring it for at least 25-30 minutes and put this game away.
- Getting rest for KT and Marissa.

Terps Receive Tough Draw on Their March to the Arch

ESPN finally had some mercy on us as they announced Maryland in the first bracket instead of waiting until the end as they normally do.

Here's a quick look at our bracket.
1st round - Dartmouth: Ivy League team. Should be able to defeat them with our skill and size.
2nd round - Villanova/Utah: One's a rematch with Daron's former team which had a surprising run to the Mountain West Tournament title, the other is against a team that runs its offense slower than a snail walks.
Sweet 16 - Kansas State/Vandy: K-State has one of the top PGs in the country and Vandy will look for revenge from last year.
Elite 8 - Louisville/LSU/South Dakota State/Baylor: We could face Benedict Arnold, a defensive-minded LSU team which is surging, a mid-major which we beat earlier this year and a Big 12 team that saw it's star go down with injury a few weeks ago.

Overall I think it's a tough bracket that is going to force us to play different ways. Nova will slow us down and Louisville will press us all over the place.

We have to bring our A game every night to make it to St. Louis.

First game is Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

See the bracket here.

It's Selection Monday!

For the first time in a long, long time the terps head into selection Monday knowing where they will play each of their six games in the tournament. First two are at Comcast Center, then we head to Raleigh and finally to St. Louis.

The only questions that remain:
1. Who will we play?
2. When do we get our crack at UConn? Another shot at Stanford would be nice too.

Check back here after the announcement for a quick analysis of our March to the Arch.

I know you have all missed it

The song from our recent title run:



And the song from our NCAA title run:

Love and Memories

Today's Front Page of the Post

Terps Use Overtime Again to Take Title Away From Duke

Duke really has to be sick and tired of playing us in Championship games. First there was April 2006 where they were hoping to take home their first-ever National Title and then there was March 2009 where they were looking to win the ACC title again. Unfortunately, both games went to overtime and to quote the title of Brenda's book "Overtime is Our Time." Both games wouldn't have went to OT if not for some amazing game-tying shots. We all know about KT's shot and if Duke won, we would have all known about Black's tip in.

In the end, we withstood the Duke pressure and some key three-point misses by Abby Waner and Joy Cheek (yes, Joy Cheek) and who is standing on the line with the Terps leading by 1? Only a player who coming into this weekend had played 56 minutes and scored 43 points all year, but she was wearing #22 and Shay's spirit must have shown through as Kim Rodgers calmy sank both free throws. After a long 3 and a jump ball, Maryland was ACC Champions for the first time since 1989.

While Marissa deserved MVP honors, Kim should get a share of it as she played 56 minutes and scored 30 points this weekend, most of which was needed as Marah slumped until a five-minute stretch in the middle of the second half.

We played fantastic and made stops when we had to. Plus, we didn't let the refs affect us as much as it normally would.

Enjoy the win while I make a manicure appointment and try to get She Can Play out of my head.

Game 32: Ekud (ACC Tournament)

Another day, another game. While we have had two nailbiting games, Ekud has coasted to two victories and has only trailed by 40 seconds the entire tournament. It seems as if loss to us has sparked Ekud's offense as they have scored more than 75 in their last four games.

A win today gives us our first ACC title since 1989 and also prevents a team named Ekud or UNC from winning the crown in the last 11 years.

Keys to the Game
- Rebound. We did a great job yesterday and need to do the same day. Duke has the height like UNC did.
- Defend. Ekud plays better defense than UNC and we can't expect to win by not making key stops.
- Pick up the tempo. Ekud wants to slow the game down and wear you out with their defense. The quicker we get the ball down the floor and score will disrupt their chance of setting up their defense.
- Attack Black. She's the key to their offense. Get her in foul trouble and the lane opens up more.
- Handle the pressure. I expect to see more pressure D from Ekud as their recent plan has been to blitz their opponents and then let their D do the work. KT will be held and grabbed, etc.
- Don't let Waner or Thomas get hot. If they start feeling it, it could be a long day.

Terps Run Past Heels into ACC Title Game

Like a great boxing match this game went back and forth. Everytime we had Carolina on the ropes, the Tar Heels stormed back and would take a lead. But Marissa wasn't going home early for the third time in her career. A bucket here, a pass there and then a huge 3 and Maryland was back in control. UNC took one last swing and who was standing at the free throw line with the team only up 3? Marissa who sank both free throws to put us up 5.

It's now onto the ACC Championship game tomorrow at 1 with both teams looking for revenge against the Terps. I hope the team is getting plenty of fluids and resting because we will need a great effort for 40 minutes tomorrow. Here's hoping the constant hounding of KT doesn't affect her mental make up and she continues to go to the line.

What I liked
- The play of Kim Rodgers. For the second straight game she has stepped up big and has provided the offense for an ineffective Marah Strickland. Kim is going to force teams to not leave her open if she keeps doing this.
- The effort on the glass. We outrebounded UNC by seven and showed great hustle.
- Composure. We never panicked when UNC made their run. The signs of a veteran team.
- Free Throw Shooting. great effort and the 80% especially the ones down the stretch sealed the deal.

What I would like to see more:
- Holding on to leads. We blew at least 3 nine-point or larger leads. UNC is a good team but we need to deliver a knockout punch.
- Marah Strickland's offense. 1-for-12 in the tournament. Kim has been bailing her out thus far.

Game 31: North Carolina (ACC Semifinals)

Less than 24 hours after our win over Wake, we are back in action today (Why the #1 seed gets less than the #4 seed I will never know). This time playing the reigning ACC Champion North Carolina Tar Heels. Carolina had an easy win over Clemson (Thanks Georgia Tech) and should be more rested. They also know that they have won this thing so many times in a row that the pressure is all on the other team. Plus, they will have somewhat of a homecourt of advantage as the crowd will have a lot of light blue in it. I do hope the Dukies cheer for us just once.

Keys to the Game
- Rebound the ball. Carolina is outrebounding opponents by 4 per game. We outrebounded them by 13 the first time thanks to great games by Marissa, Dee and Lynetta. We will need the same effort today.
- Hound the ball handlers. Carolina loves to turn the ball over, but they can only do that if they are being pressured.
- Attack Breland. Get her in foul trouble and than opens up the lane a little more.
- Play at our pace, not Carolina pace. UNC loves to do everything fast, if we can slow the pace down to slightly under fast that would be great.
- Someone besides KT and Marissa will need to score. We got 10 and 12 from Lynetta and Dee respectively the first time. Need that again today.
- Don't let McCants get hot. If she makes her first couple she will continue to expand her range. she's not a great 3-pt shooter, but if she's feeling it the shots will fly.
- Hands up on the three-point shooters. UNC's guard are shorter than ours and we can't let them have open looks.

Terps Survive and Advance Past Wake Forest

Well, they say a win is a win and it wasn't more appropriate than today. Hopefully, this was our typical clunker of a game that always happens on the first day of the ACC Tournament. Now that we got it out of our system we can rebound against UNC tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Wake Forest led 63-51 with a little under 10 minutes left and I wasn't seeing any spark out of the team. Then Kristi hit a 3 and it ignited a 19-2 run and put us in the lead for good. It looked as if the team panicked because Marissa and KT weren't scoring and that three let them know everything was going to be ok.

I do give the Deacons a ton of credit as their defense and offense gave us fits almost the entire game. Their tight d on KT and Marissa forced us to use other players to score and we didn't react well until the seniors took over. On offensive, they screened their way all over the floor to create mismatches. Also they couldn't miss shots.

Some milestones reached today:
- KT is now #2 in the ACC in assists with 730, she needs 50 to pass Sharnee Zoll.
- MC becomes the second ACC Player with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 200 steals and 100 blocks. I think she could also be the first player in NCAA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 400 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocks.

What I liked:
- It looked like the old Dee Liles was back as she was jumping all over the place getting rebounds.
- the play of Kim Rodgers. She hasn't seen much time but with Marah saddled with foul trouble she came in and scored seven points in the first half including two deep balls.
- The intensity with the game on the line. Wake was feeling it and if you Tivo'ed the game I believe there was a giddy Sue Semrau cheering when Collier or Tchangoue made a jumper near the WF bench in the middle of the second half.
- Kizer calling for the ball and knowing she could take her player. Now if she would just use the glass on her layups.

What I would like to see more:
- Taking care of the ball. We were just giving Wake the ball.
- Better defense. We didn't switch on screens and Wake had easy looks.
- Marah Strickland's offense and decision making. 1) she missed a ton of open looks 2) the game was on the line and we have a one possession lead and she shoots the ball way early in the shot clock. If you take that shot you have to make it.
- Better Free throw shooting. back-to-back games where we have struggled from the line.


The Keys to the UNC game will be up before the game tomorrow, just don't expect a full breakdown.

Toliver Named ACC Player of the Year

For the second straight season, Maryland takes home ACC Player of the Year honors as Kristi Toliver was chosen as the winner earlier today.

Congrats to Kristi, although I felt Marissa deserved it based on her play recently.

I really wish they would stop hiding the votes.

Game 30: Wake Forest (ACC Quarterfinals)

And now the fun begins. The Terps now enter the portion of their schedule where it's win or go home. Once again, Maryland had the luxory of watching another team play before taking to the court in Greensboro. This year's first round opponent is Wake Forest, a team that currently sits on the NCAA bubble in some people's eyes.

The last time we saw Wake Forest it was the first game of the ACC season and the Deacs were ranked in the top 25. 15 games later, WFU went 5-9 in the conference, while we went 12-2.

Record: 19-10
PPG/OPP: 65.6/59.0
FG%/OPP: .380/.384
3FG%/OPP: .300/.293
FT%/OPP: .664/.695
RPG/OPP: 37.9/41.3
APG/OPP: 14.3/10.5
TOS/OPP: 16.9/23.2
STEALS/OPP: 12.4/9.7
BLOCKS/OPP: 2.6/3.1

The Starters
- Alex Tchangoue. 5-11 guard/forwards. Second on the team in points and assists, first in rebounds and steals. Shoots 42% from the floor and 33% from behind the arc. Will drive the ball.
- Corinne Groves. 6-3 forward. Leads the team in points, but third in rebounds. Stays mainly in the paint and doesn't shoot 3s. When she gets the ball she is usually going to take the shot as she doesn't look to pass.
- Secily Ray. 5-11 guard. fourth on the team in scoring, second in rebounding and first in blocks. shoots only 35% from the floor. will take the three if left open, just not very good at it (26%). Likes to attack the bucket, but shooting 65% from the free throw line. Will get into foul trouble as she has fouled out of 3 games this year.
- Brooke Thomas. 5-4 guard. The team's point guard. sixth on the team in scoring at 5.7 ppg. Leads the team in assists as well as turnovers. shoots 28% from the floor and 14% from behind the arc (4-27). A decent free throw shooter at 67%.
- Courtney Morris. 5-11 guard. sixth on the team at scoring and fifth in rebounding. Shooting 33% from the floor and behind the arc. Primarily a jump shooter who rarely attacks the rim. 55% free throw shooter. will help on d as she is second on the team in steals.

The Bench
- Brittany Waters. 6-1 forward. third on the team in scoring and fourth in rebounding. makes 41% of her shots and 37% of her threes (has taken 100 threes this year) Can block shots, but will also get into foul trouble.
- Camille Cooper. 5-6 guard. fifth on the team in scoring. Another gunner who would prefer to stay outside the lane. all but 70 of her shots have been from 3 where she has made 26% of them. Doesn't help rebound.
- Sarah Riddle. 6-5 center. Barely plays and doesn't factor a whole lot into their offense . Doesn't shoot the 3.

Keys to the Game
- Play our game. This game should be over at halftime if we play the way we have been playing for the last month. Wake will try to slow it down to keep it close. We need to get the ball and go. Also, we need to rest some players given the games that await us.
- Rebound the ball. We have a height advantage on Wake and there is no reason why they should outrebound us.
- Get other players involved. I liked the plan against Miami on Sunday and hope we see more of the same today.


With the game at 3 and on TV, I have a feeling those who aren't in Greensboro will be enjoying happy hour even earlier.

Kizer Named ACC Rookie of the Year

For the third time in five years a Terp has earned ACC Rookie of the Year Honors as Lynetta Kizer was selected by the panel yesterday. Kizer was also named to the All-Rookie Team and was joined by fellow Terp recruiting targets Chay Shegog and Cierra Bravard.

Tuesday's Tidbits

- We moved up to #4 in the latest AP poll thanks to non-conference opponent UCLA's win over California.
- Marissa was named ACC Player of the Week
- Marissa and Kristi were chosen First Team All-ACC. It marks the second straight year the Terps have accomplished this feat and fifth-straight year with at least one first teamer. I do find it interesting that the ACC didn't release the votes this year meaning chances are high there was only one unanimous player and that person will be the POY.

Terps Crown Miami to Take ACC Title

15 minutes into the game and you could already hear the managers preparing the champagne in the visiting lockerroom as the Terps were up by double-digits and Miami looked completely lost. (I doubt there was champagne but it's a good analogy) For the first time in 20 years, Maryland is the ACC Champion. Although the real titles they want will warrant another 3 and 9 consecutive victories.

Maryland now awaits the winner of NC State and Wake Forest on Thursday and then we go on from there.

It was funny to watch the game and see and hear more Terps' fans than Miami fans.

It was puzzling not to see Coach Floyd on the bench. I hope she gets over whatever illness she has in time for the ACC Tournament because I doubt anything else would keep her from being at the game that would secure the title.

I am sure you have seen the new poll I added to the site about ACC Player of the Year. I have a feeling we could split the vote and someone may swoop in and take it. My pick is for Coleman who has played so great the last eight games that she has pushed past Toliver as the team's most valuable player.

Things I liked
- Establishing other players. It seemed like the plan was to let Kizer take advantage of her height. There was also stretches where it seemed like Marah and the supporting cast were told to look to score before Toliver and Coleman did.
- The domination on the glass. Everytime I looked up a Maryland player was flying through the air. 52 rebounds has to be close to a season-high.
- Marissa driving to the bucket. Marissa saw the mismatch and routinely used her size and speed to take the Canes to the bucket over and over again.
- The defense. I think we forced Miami to do things they weren't comfortable doing and as a result they threw bad passes and tried to rush their offense.
- The Miami radio crew. They weren't biased and in fact I think they were more anti-Miami than anything else. I do want to know who was the source that revealed that Marissa and Kristi were top 10 WNBA picks. He/she could be the next Deep Throat.

Things I would like to see more of
- Practicing lay ups. too many easy shots were missed today. Luckily we got the rebounds.