Terps Dismantle Eagles, 86-59

Yesterday had to be the most complete game we have played in a while and maybe even all year. We came out strong and took it to B.C. early. Once we established the lead, we never let B.C. get close. We even came out strong in the second half scoring the first 13 points. Brenda used one time out and that was her throwaway one. The win clinches at least a 3 seed in the ACC Tournament and the first round bye. It gives us more win than last year and 10 wins in conference for the first time in a long time. If we play at this level on Sunday down at NC State, which beat Clemson by 11 last night, it could be another easy one on the heart.

Game Story | Box Score | Quotes | Notes

Positives

Rebounding. We outrebounded them by 18 despite Crystal only having 4. Everyone was one the glass and Coleman led the way with 15.

Harper. After a shaky Duke game, she came out and did what she does best score, rebound and block shots.

Coleman. 15 rebounds, 12 defensive, and played decent defense. She only scored 8 points, but it doesn't matter when she is doing everything else (4 assists, two blocks and 1 steal)

Newman. She struggled with her first couple of shots. She looked like she was trying to hard. She finally settled down in the second half and scored 8 including two great drives to the hoop.

Intensity. I mentioned it earlier and I thought it was great how we didn't play down to our opponent. BC foul trouble helped too.

Negatives

Turnovers. 19 is a bit much, but when you outrebound an opponent by 18 and win by 27 it is somewhat acceptable. I still would prefer less.

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Game 26 vs. Boston College

Well it's round 2 vs. the Eagles, who are suddenly red hot as they have won 6 straight ACC games and 7 in a row overall. This is the third and final of our home-and-home series thus far this year and if form holds true we should be remarkably better than the first meeting. Case in point, we beat Virginia by 10 in OT at their place, then came home and won by 14 in regulation. Duke beat us by 18 at home and in the second meeting we only lost by 10.

In the first game against BC, it was the Crystal and Harper show as the posts combined for 39 points and 21 rebounds. Shay added 13 including several clutch baskets in OT. We didn't shoot particularly well, as we made only 3 three-pointers and shot 40% from the floor. BC was led by Kindyll Dorsey's 18 points, all of which came from behind the arc, while Brooke Queenan added 17 and Aja Parham had 11 and 12. They didn't shoot particularly well either, but rallied in the second half to tie the game.

MD-BC Boxscore #1

BC's seven-game winning streak comes against weaker foes as they have played Longwood, Virginia, NC State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Miami. BC has shot 52.2% from the field during the winning streak and over 50% in the last five games.

This game is very important as if we win, we clinch at least the 3 seed in the ACC Tournament. That means a first-round bye and an extra day of rest.

BC Stats

Keys to the Game

Establish our inside presence. BC is your typical grind it out Big East team. If we can take out their post players we should win easily.

Control Parham. She was able to slash at ease in the first game and we seem to have trouble guarding slashers.

Guard Dorsey behind the arc. She hit 6 3's the first game and that can't happen again.

Pressure the ball. BC is averaging 20 turnovers a game. There is no reason to let them take their time setting up their offense.

Getting Newman back on track. I miss the old Ashleigh Newman who could hit almost every 3. She's in a slump these days although her last make was the biggest of her career.

Show intensity. We can't let the Duke loss get us down. Go out tonight and prove we belong among the top teams in the ACC.

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Game Notes
Maryland | Boston College

Terps Tidbits - Wednesday

Up to 4th in the latest coaches poll. Would like to be higher, but the loss to Duke didn't help.

Also up to 4th in the SI Power Poll

Jerry Palm now has us as a 1 seed in his latest bracket. He still has us going to Norfolk, which would be a hike, but at least close to home.

Under the Shell is on tonight. Check the listings as last week they moved the episode to 1:30 to show a stupid hockey game.

Looking at the ACC Standings

As the season winds down, I am going to start updating the ACC standings each day and try and breakdown the seeding for the tournament. Here's the first go-round

As of 2/13

1. North Carolina - 10-1
Remaining games: 2/17 @Virginia Tech (4-6), 2/20 vs. Boston College (6-4), 2/26 vs. Duke (10-1)
Outlook: Carolina can be anywhere from a 1 to a 5 seed at this point. With a win or a B.C. loss, they clinch a first round bye in the tournament and at least a top 3 seed.

2. Duke - 10-1
Remaining games: 2/19 @ Miami (5-6), 2/22 vs. Virginia Tech (4-6), 2/26 @ North Carolina (10-1)
Outlook: Duke has clinched a first round bye and can finish no lower than third since they own the tiebreaker with BC and FSU.

3. Maryland - 9-2
Remaining games: 2/16 vs Boston College (6-4), 2/19 @NC State (5-6), 2/23 vs. Clemson (2-8)
Outlook: Maryland needs one more win to clinch the first round bye. A win over BC gives them at least the 3 seed. If they can finish 12-2, they can get the two seed if Duke beats UNC.

4. Boston College - 6-4
Remaining games:2/16 @ Maryland (9-2), 2/20 @ North Carolina (10-1), 2/24 vs. NC State (5-6), 2/26 @ Florida State (6-4)
Outlook: They can finish anywhere from 1 to 8 depending how the next week goes for them. A win Thursday keeps them in the hunt for the first round bye. The FSU game may decide the final bye.

5. Florida State - 6-4
Remaining games: 2/17 vs. Miami (5-6), 2/19 @ Clemson (2-8), 2/23 vs. Wake Forest (3-8), 2/26 vs. Boston College (6-4)
Outlook: They should be able to win their next three and move into the four seed. They have an outside chance of moving into the Top 3, but that would take a total collapse by all three of them.

6. NC State - 5-6
Remaining games: 2/16 @ Clemson (2-8), 2/19 vs. Maryland (9-2), 2/24 @ Boston College (6-4)
Outlook: They have a chance to still claim the last first round bye, but their final two games are tough. They also could finish in the bottom half of the standings if they drop the game to Clemson.

7. Miami - 5-6
Remaining games: 2/17 @ Florida State (6-4), 2/19 vs. Duke (10-1), 2/26 vs. Georgia Tech (2-9).
Outlook: The first two are tough games while the last is winnable so they are in the same boat as NC State

8. Virginia Tech - 4-6
Remaining games: 2/17 vs. North Carolina (10-1), 2/19 @ Georgia Tech (2-9), 2/22 @ Duke (10-1), 2/26 vs. Wake Forest (3-8)
Outlook: Big win over FSU last night keeps them out of the basement for now. They should go 2-2 over the final four games to keep them in the 6-8 range. If not, they could be a sleeper on the first day.

9. Wake Forest - 3-8
Remaining Games: 2/18 vs. Virginia (2-9), 2/23 @ Florida State (6-4), 2/26 @ Virginia Tech (4-6).
Outlook: The big game is Saturday vs. Virginia. Win that I don't see them finishing lower than 11th. Lose and they could be the 12th seed.

10. Clemson - 2-8
Remaining games: 2/16 vs. NC State (5-6), 2/19 vs. Florida State (6-4), 2/23 @ Maryland (9-2), 2/26 @ Virginia (2-9).
Outlook: The first three don't look very winnable so the game vs. UVA could end up deciding last place.

11. Virginia - 2-9
Remaining games: 2/18 @ Wake Forest (3-8), 2/23 vs. Georgia Tech (2-9), 2/26 vs. Clemson (2-9)
Outlook: They should be able to win the remaining 3 and not have to worry about the basement, but how will the team respond after losing to the top 3 teams in the league?

12. Georgia Tech - 2-9
Remaining games: 2/19 vs. Virginia Tech (4-6), 2/23 @ Virginia (2-9), 2/26 @ Miami (5-6).
Outlook: Not looking good to getting out of the cellar. A win over UVA would be big and possibly give them the tiebreaker.

Bedeviled! Duke Continues Winning Ways Over Terps

Well it was the tale of two halves. The first half saw us play with poise, control and defense. That led to us building an 8-pt halftime lead. Once again we came out in the second half flat and Duke burned us with a huge run to take the lead. We seemed to have regained our composure and took the lead on a Doron three, but miscomunication on our zone defense led to two wide open Foley 3s and from that point on we were trading baskets. The loss ends our 8-game winning streak and drops us to 9-2 in conference. It's also our first road loss in conference this year. We've made some progress since the last Duke game, but in the end experience won out.

There was some silver lining as Virginia Tech beat Florida State last night so a win over BC on Thursday locks up at least the three seed in the ACC Tournament. Not at of turnaround time for the ladies, but they have been in this spot before and handled it well. Also, it's a home game.

Game Story | Box Score

Positives

Coleman. She came to play and was doing a great job in the first half until she picked up her second foul. That really started to turn the tide.

Toliver. Handled the Duke pressure admirably (only 2 TOs) and made the offense look fluid. She had a few rushed shots, but those 3s she hit in the final minute prove to me that she is willing to take the big shot.

Charmaine. She doesn't play that much, but when she came into the game yesterday she played with energy and added a new spark. Her bucket and subsequent free throw was great. She also grabbed 4 rebounds and hassled Currie.

Negatives

Rebounding. Yes, Duke is taller than us, but we looked awful on the defensive glass and that's a key reason Duke beat us. You can't give good teams second, third and sometimes four chances to score. The guards need to help out in times like that.

Second half defense. We gave up 57 points in 20 minutes. Unacceptable. We looked like matadores out there at certain times.

Second half intensity. We have to stop coming out of halftime flat. It finally came back to bite us on the ass this game and could happen again in the postseason.

Shay. Disappearing act continued on the road. She played ok against UNC, but she needs to realize that if her shot isn't falling from the outside, she needs to create shots in the paint and go to the foul line.

Harper. She was too hyped for the game. Early miscues with the ball and then looked out of sync when on the court. It was her first Cameron experience so I will give her a pass, but she needs to play taller versus the bigger teams.

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We're #4!!!

The first poll finally came out and we have moved up to 4th in the AP Rankings. As an added bonus we picked up two first-place votes. Meanwhile, UNC only has 1. Duke is ranked #1 meaning tonight's game is another against the #1 ranked team in the country. Hopefully we can end Duke's reign as quickly as UNC did.

AP Poll Story | AP Poll

ESPN's Bracketology

Charlie Creme finally got around to updating his bracket and talking about last week. He said despite the win over UNC, still a two seed and probably no chance of grabbing a 1 even if they beat Duke. That makes me laugh. The new bracket has us in Norfolk with a possible second round match against Florida and then possibly Courtney Paris and Oklahoma.

Game #25 @ Duke

Part one of the road trip went well, thanks to some luck and us finally playing defense like we did early on in the season. Part two doesn't get any easier as we had to Cameron Indoor and look to knock off Duke for the first time in forever. Duke's beat us by a combined score of nearly 70 in the last three meetings and the closest game I remember was a three-point loss in Durham last year.

Duke beat us by 18 nearly a month ago, but we were a different team back then. Toliver was still coming off injury and everyone was readjusting to their roles. In the second half we played them straight up, only being outscored by 1 point. Duke has looked vulnerable since the loss to UNC. They have gone into defensive lapses and let teams creep back into games. That being said, they are still tough to beat, even tougher than UNC. The key to beating UNC was to slow them down and make them run an offense. Duke can run you, but they can also work their offense to perfection. Plus, they have scorers at every position. There were some positives to take from that game as we only lost the rebounding battle by 1 despite Crystal not getting one the whole game.

The game is on ESPN2 at 7:00

Duke-Maryland Box Score Gm 1

Keys to the Game

Match the intensity we had to start the UNC game and the way we ended it. Duke wants to put you away early like they did back at our place. We can't fall behind by double-digits and expect to come back. If we can keep with Duke for the entire game, I feel we can pull away in the end.

Crystal has to get rebounds. In the first game, she had 0. Yes, 0. Duke did a great job of having two to three people box her out. Crystal must fight through these and get in good position. Also, her teammates must step up and fill the gaps that are created by the extra attention.

Control Harding and Black. Harding had a field day in the first game, pentrating and dishing. Toliver must be stronger defensively to not let this happen again. Black seems to love playing against us. Harper, Lang and Perry must keep her off the glass and away from the basket.

Use pump fakes. Duke loves to go for the block on ever shot. Get them off their feet and then go up and under for the easy bucket and/or foul.

Limit turnovers. Duke will bring pressure as did UNC and we have to stop with the bad turnovers.

Make the most of each possession. Duke can score on almost every possession as can we, we just need to make the most of each one.

Help on the double teams. Toliver will get doubled as will Lang in the post. The others must get to open space so they can get the ball.

Have fun. They have played in hostile environments before and now they must treat it as another game and do what they do best.

Game Notes
Maryland | Duke

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USA Today It's the cover story!

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Terps Tidbits -- Sunday

It's been three days since the big win and I am sure you all saw the coverage this weekend, especially Friday. There were a few articles this weekend though.

Baltimore Sun

WUSA 9 TV

Baltimore Sun

Hartford Courant

Laura Harper Blog

Coleman's Blog

Langhorne's Blog

Another Road Game, Another Overtime Victory

It seems like road games and winning in overtime are the norm for the Terps this year. The first three were a little puzzling as they were against BC, UVA and Wake, but the one last night was completely acceptable as we took down the #1 team in the country, the North Carolina Tar Heels with a 98-95 victory in Chapel Hill! The team showed heart down the stretch, especially after being down 70-56 at one point, providing defensive stop after defensive stop and then watching as Ashleigh Newman grabbed a loose ball and "calmy" fired at the hoop to hit nothing but the bottom of the net. In OT, it was the same old story, grab a big early lead and walk away winners. UNC made it a battle as Latta made back-to-back 3s, but her last three was blocked by Shay Doron and the Terps have now won two straight over UNC.

This win finally proves we belong. After the debacle vs. Duke nearly a month ago, all the fans out there thought we were a paper team. Last night though proved that we can play with the big girls of women's basketball and win on their court. It was fun to listen to all the crickets chirp last night. You can't bash a team that became the only team to beat the current #1 team in the land.

Also, it's time to start watching our little bandwagon pick up steam. Suddenly new fans will come out of the woodworks. The bandwagon will pick up even more steam if we can do this again on Monday vs. Duke.

With the win, the Terps have matched last year's win total.

Game Story | Box Score

Positives

Ashleigh Newman. I don't often think that someone who shoots 1 of 9 as a positive, but when that one make is a 25-foot 3 to tie the game. She gets a ton of props.

Marissa Coleman. 23 points (9 of 15, 4 of 6 from 3), 9 rebounds and 6 steals. They may start etching her name on the ROY trophy now.

Crystal Langhorne. 25 pts, 8 rebounds. Our All-American stepped up in the biggest game like we expected her too.

Toliver. facing a relentless pressure defense, she dished out 8 assists and only had four turnovers. Remember folks, she's a freshman.

Shay's block. She got her points, but nothing was bigger than getting her hand on Latta's shot at the buzzer in OT.

Defense in the last 10 minutes. I don't know the exact score, but UNC had 70 points with at least 12 minutes left and I was fearing they would score 100 on us. 12 minutes later, UNC only had 83. That's what you call playing defense when it matters the most.

Three-point shooting. One of my keys was making the 3-pt shots. We made 52.9% of them. 7 of 9 in the second half and OT.

Negatives

Free Throw Shooting. We missed 13 of them, not good. Luckily for us, they missed 14. This is twice in the big games our FT shooting has not been good.

Turnovers. 21 is a lot, but we only had 5 in the second half and OT. Now if we can only have 5 in each half.

We didn't win by more, but I will take the win :)

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WE WIN!!!!!!

Another road game, another overtime win. I will do the usual postgame wrap up tomorrow. I am celebrating now.

Be sure to watch SportsCenter and all the usual shows to see all the new Maryland fans come out of the woodworks.

Game #24 @ North Carolina

Well tonight begins the stretch of games which proves if we belong with the big teams or if we are still on the next tier down. First it's tonight in Chapel Hill vs. the #1 Tar Heels (the third #1 team we have played this year), then it's Monday vs. #2 Duke, Thursday vs. #23 Boston College and then the 19th vs. NC State. Anything less than a 2-2 record through this stretch will be killer. I would take 3-1, but would love to see us go 4-0.

Tonight though is North Carolina, the #1 team in the land. The only undefeated team. The team that blitzed UConn at Storrs and came from 17 down to beat Duke at Cameron. They are good, really good and we need to bring our A game to beat them. They love to run the ball up and down the floor. They use speed to their advantage and hope to force teams into submission thanks to their fast break and relentless press. Also, they are looking for revenge after last season's loss at Comcast.

They are led by Ivory Latta, one of the best guards in the country and probably the frontrunner for ACC Player of the Year. She's quick, cocky and can shoot from anywhere on the floor. Next there is Erlana Larkins. She's tough on the blocks and has range with her jumpshot. Next is Camille Little. She's gone from down in the low post to more of a small forward position in three years. She can shoot the three, but also back you down. Atkinson is their defensive stopper and rebounder. They have a huge freshman class but none of them have really stepped to the forefront to take control like our freshmen have.

UNC scores 83.5 points per game, while allowing only 54.4. They have nearly 300 steals, but have committed over 400 turnovers. They shoot 48.2% from the field and 39.2% from behind the arc. Their stats are very impressive and I can't find a weak spot. Tonight is going to be a tough game.

UNC Roster | UNC Stats

Keys to the Game

Control the tempo of the game. UNC likes to run and we can't get in a running match with them. Our bench is 7 deep sometimes 8 or 9, and they have a larger one. We can't be afraid to set up our halfcourt offense and get the best shot. Just because UNC runs the ball and hoists up quick shots doesn't mean we need to.

Control the glass. The main reason Duke was killing Carolina early was because they owned the glass in the first half. Then Atkinson got going and the game changed. Crystal, Laura, Marissa and Jade must attack all missed shots to prevent the breakout. If UNC gets a defensive rebound, they are off and running.

Keep Latta under wraps. She's the quickest guard we have faced and we know how we do against quick guards. Slow her down with some ball pressure and keep her out of sync. Also, she needs other people to beat us. She tends to be a ball hog sometimes and often will try and do it all.

Keep our composure. Our last 5 road games have been awful at the start and out of halftime. It's time to show up when the ball is tipped and prove we belong.

Keep the Intensity. Last year, when we built the big lead, we bent but didn't break, we need to do the same tonight. When we take the lead, build on it and don't let up. This isn't UVA, GT, Wake, etc. UNC can come back.

Break their press. They love to press with Little at the top of the zone. With her at the top that leaves Langhorne and Harper wide open down below for an easy bucket over their shorter players. They also will let Latta press the ball handler and then bring over the double team quickly. We must not get trapped.

Have confidence in our shots. They play a zone so our gunners must be able to hit from 3. If we can connect early and often, it may force them to play more man and we can get buckets underneath.

Get Larkins in foul trouble. Another reason Duke led big was because Larkins sat on the bench with foul trouble. Coach G never attacked her in the second half when she had 3 fouls and we all saw that result. Take her out and it could be a feast down low.

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Game Notes
Maryland | UNC

One last thing, tonight's game isn't on TV and is only available on Student Radio or the UNC broadcast. I guess the folks over at Maryland didn't think a #1 vs. #6 match up was important enough to send the commercial crew. If you want to voice a complaint drop an e-mail to Chris Janush, the general manager.

New Site Feature

If you look to the left there is now a link that will pop up a message board to talk about the Terps. It replaced the Guestbook, because I was tired of all the spam I had to sift through.

Feel free to post a message and see what your fellow fans have to say. Might be a good resource for the road games this weekend.

Terps Tidbits - Wednesday

Still ranked 6th in all three polls: AP, ESPN and SI Power Poll, but that should change considering our next two games.

Still a #2 seed in the latest bracket by Jerry Palm.

Crystal got some publicity from Mechelle Voepel in her latest column. Good to see someone else thinks she's one of the best post players in the country.

Just a reminder that Under The Shell is on tonight at 11 on Comcast SportsNet.

Terps Tidbits - Tuesday

George Soloman writes about the team and coach Frese

Mel Greenberg previews the upcoming week.

The team raised money for the Hoops for Hopes game vs. NC State.

Toliver Named ACC Rookie of the Week

For the second time in three weeks, Kristi Toliver has been named the ACC Rookie of the Week.

This marks the 6th time this year a Maryland rookie has won the award.

Terps Sweeps Cavaliers For First Time since 1989

Well, we are slowly regaining that early season grove. After our normal beginning of the game funk, we went out and dominated Virginia with a 21-1 run. Virginia slowly crept back into the game, which included our also usual post halftime funk, , but was never able to get closer than 6. The Terps looked complacent in the second half, as if they felt Virginia was going to roll over and die. No one in the ACC does that so we can't just turn it off because we have a big lead. The next two games are going to be very telling. The win moves us to 8-1 in the ACC, clinching a winning record for the first time since 1997. We are also 21-2, one win away from last year's win total. And we swept Virginia for the first time since 1989.

Game Story | Box Score | Quotes | Notes

Postives

Laura Harper. Again the star of the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Her offense game is coming alive and she is starting to hit the glass with more force. This can only help open things for the other players.

Shay. Another solid game out of her. She looked a little like the old Shay with the way she took the ball to the basket instead of relying on her jump shot.

Toliver. 9 assists, 2 turnovers vs. one of the best PGs in the conference. She picked her spots to take her shot and ran the offense very well.

Free Throw shooting. Another game over 70% and we made them down the stretch to seal the game.

More assists than turnovers. I can't recall the last time that happened.

Negatives

Our 1-on-1 defense. All teams are doing are isolating the defender and then driving past them. Zoll did it most of the second half yesterday and occasionally Granberry and Sardin would do the same. We have to be better at not being taken off the dribble on every possession, especially with UNC on Thursday.

Complacency. We have to stop letting teams back into games. It's been a problem since the start of the season. When we build a big lead it's time for the team to step on their throats and make the game a laugher.

Three-point defense. Virginia isn't a great 3-pt shooting team, but McGuire had only 3 looks all game and UVA only took 8 shots from behind the arc. It's an improvement since the games last week.

Sloppy passes. In the half court offense we tend to want to force the ball into spaces that don't exist. Just pass the ball around the perimeter and eventually that spot will open.

Crystal. She needs to work harder down low to get open and create her shot. She can't just set up shop and expect to get the ball and then not get doubled. She's too good of a player to only take 7 shots.

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Game #23 vs. Virginia

It's the rematch vs. Virginia that all their fans have been waiting for. The Cavaliers are struggling right now. They are 2-6 in the ACC and have lost three in a row and four of their last five. Plus, this week they play us, Duke and UNC. They are going to be hungry for a win as they could be 2-9 by the time next Sunday night rolls around.

Two weeks ago, we needed overtime to beat them as we went on a 10-0 run to start the extra session and essentially put the game away. Coleman led the way with 22 points and 8 rebounds, while Crystal had 17, Ashleigh had 15 and Toliver had 12. We had 23 turnovers and didn't play inspired until late in the second half. We need to play better to sweep the season series for the first time in forever.

MD vs. UVA Boxscore | UVA Stats

Keys to the Game

Rebounding. we should be able to dominate them on the glass as we have our last two opponents. We beat them at their place by 6, I think we can get it to double-digits.

Controlling Siedah Williams. She's another of those lanky small forwards that seem to dominate us because she's long and quick. She had 16 against us last time and we need to control her better.

Cutting off Zoll's drives. Zoll loves to drive and dish or create contact and get the foul. We need to prevent them, but also be aware that she can shoot the 3.

Muscle up Littles. She caught the ball very deep last time and had a quick turnaround for the easy bucket. Jade and Lang have to keep her off the blocks and make her work away from the basket.

Don't let McGuire get hot. Shay did a great job guarding her two weeks ago and we need the same effort today.

Shay. Let's hope the slump is behind her and she's back playing like the first team All-ACC performer we know and love.

Newman. Her defensive responsibilites may not be that much today so she may be able to settle down and find her shot.

Toliver. Now that she's starting, let's how she does a full 40 minutes with Zoll.

Game Notes
Maryland | Virginia

Terp Tidbits -- Friday, Feb. 3

Another article in the Diamondback

Crystal was one of 20 midseason candidates for the Wooden Award

Laura Harper blogged for the NCAA's new site: www.doubleazone.com

Marissa, Shay and Crystal have each updated their Under the Shell blogs.

Go Here and vote for Maryland to be ranked 3rd in the country.

Terps Use Runs to Overcome Hurricanes, 88-77

We just don't like to win easy any more do we. After building a 13-point lead af halftime, we decided to let Miami tie the game 4 minutes into the second half. It took a late run and foul trouble by Miami to walk away with a 88-77 win last night. Shay had 26, Harper had a season-high 19 and Langhorne and Coleman each had double-doubles in the win. Now 20-2 on the season, 7-1 in the ACC with a big game against Virginia looming on the horizon.

Game Story | Box Score | Quotes | Notes

Positives

Laura Harper. The last two games she has really stepped her offensive game. Yes, the opponents were smaller, but she can easily score 15 a night if given the chance. I hope Brenda continues to get Harper involved in the offense.

Shay. She likes her home cooking. Back-to-back good games at home, now it just needs to translate on the road next week.

Rebounding. This was one of the keys of the game and we owned the boards 54-34.

Defense on James. Yes, she had 16 points and yes she was in foul trouble, but I think Harper played decent defense on her and gave her something else to think about.

3-point defense. Another key to the game and they only made 6 of 23 shots. That's pretty good considering what we had been giving up from that range.

Coleman's rebounding. She did a great job of coming and stealing the rebound from Miami when Crystal and Harper were boxed out.

Negatives

Turnovers. We had 22, only 9 in the second half though.

Langhorne. It's kind of hard to think of Crystal as a negative, but the last few games she has missed a ton of easy layups. She is also hesistant to pull the trigger on shooting from further than 5 feet. For her to be the complete player, she can't be afraid to shoot something other than a layup. Also, she's turning the ball over a ton. The coaches need to tell her to stop being so hesistant.

Coleman's shooting. Her shot looked weird last night as if she was trying to put some extra back spin on the ball. She needs to stop thinking so much and do what comes natural too her.

Newman. It's been a while since she's a hit a 3 I think, so she needs to get back on track.

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Terp Tidbits

Still ranked 6th in all three polls. SI Power Poll

Under the Shell is on tonight

Jerry Palm has us as a 3 seed in his latest bracket.

Diamondback Article today on Laura Harper

Game #22 vs. Miami

This begins a crucial week for the Terps. The next two games should be winable and help further lock up the first round ACC bye. We also need to start getting our players some rest so they aren't tired during the final stretch.

Miami enters the game with a record 14-6 and 4-3 in ACC play. They are playing under a new coach Katie Meier, who graduated from Duke. I have seen them play once and they like to run the ball ala North Carolina. Common opponents include: George Mason (lost), Siena (won), Georgia Tech (won), Boston College (won), Virginia Tech (won).

They average 76.1 ppg, while only allowing 66.9. They get outrebounded, but have 231 steals on the year. They shoot well from the floor at a 45.5% clip and 33.5 from three. They also don't miss many free throws. They turn the ball over at least 19 times per game.

Their one problem is that they are a small team that relies on quickness to beat you. Tamara James leads the ACC in scoring and also her team in rebounding. All this at 5-10. Renee Taylor is second on the team in scoring and she is 5'2. Brittany Denson is their tallest player and she's a freshman averaging 6.1 and 5.9. She has blocked 24 shots this year. The only player in double figures in blocks. Melissa Knight is the third leading scorer at 11.5 ppg and she's 5'11.

Miami Roster | Miami Stats

Keys to the Game

Own the paint and the boards. Last year Crystal had 29 and 22 against them. I expect similar numbers tonight. Harper and Jade also must be forces down low.

Control the tempo of the game. This is a decent preview of what UNC will throw at us in a week so the team can't let Miami streak up and down the floor. Use pressure to slow down Taylor and James.

Control Taylor and James. They are the keys to that team. If you can stop them, then you should win handily. I would like to see Coleman guard James and Newman on Taylor. The height discreptancies should give them fits.

Guard the three-point line. We need to stop letting teams have a field day behind the arc.

Shay and Newman getting back on track. It hasn't been a great couple of weeks for the two markswomen. They needed to cured in a hurry.

Maryland Game Notes | Miami Game Notes

Terps Discuss Recent Wins

Looks like the team had a meeting yesterday to discuss all these close games. I for one would like to live longer so it would be nice to have some 30-pt blow out wins the next few weeks.

Recent Wins Too Close For Comfort

Langhorne and Coleman win ACC Weekly Honors

It what was a no brainer for the voters, Crystal picked up her second ACC POW honor yesterday after her monster week. Coleman made it a sweep by picking up her fourth ACC Rookie of the Week honors. I don't have any facts to back this up, but Maryland has to be leading the rest of the conference in ACC ROW winners the last 3 years.

Official Release

Langhorne's Career-high propel Terps past Wake, 79-70, in OT

Another road game, another nail biter, another overtime session. 4 ACC games on the road this year and 3 of them have gone to OT each time the Terps have come away with the win. The only problem is that from here on out, the road games don't get any easier: 2/9 @ North Carolina, 2/13 @ Duke, 2/19 @ NC State. We have a clinched a winning record on the road in the ACC for the first time in forever so that's a good sign, but the bad part is we show no intensity until we realize we may lose. Two big games await us this week with Miami on Wednesday more than likely will lock up the first round playoff bye with a win and the rematch with Virginia on Sunday.

Game Story | Box Score

Positives

Langhorne. What can you say about her? Game's on the line and she takes the ball to hole with authority and then makes her free throws. 34 points and 14 rebounds is an impressive day for anyone. If only she can do this in the first half.

Harper. We needed another low post presence yesterday and Harper gave it to us with 13 points and 6 rebounds. I wish we would get her even more involved in the offense.

Turnovers. We had 5 in the first 5 minutes and then only 9 the rest of the way. Maybe this will be the start of something new.

Rebounding. This was a game we should have dominated on the glass and we did outrebounding Wake by 18.

Negatives

Defending the 3. It's quite obvious from looking at the stats that Wake shoots a lot of threes. My question is why did we never guard the person shooting the 3? Bond-Young made 6 threes three days after Nnamake had a field day behind the arc. It's time to get a hand in their faces ladies.

3-point shooting. What has happened to it the last few games? 4 in two games after the way we started the year? This is not a good time for the whole team to start slumping.

Shay. I am hoping the GT game wasn't a mirage, but she had another poor shooting effort. I like that she attacked the glass and collected 9 rebounds, but we need her to be more consistent with her shot.

Free Throw shooting down the stretch. We had several key misses at the end of the game and OT. Luckily they didn't hurt us.

Articles
Winston-Salem Journal
The Diamondback

Pictures

Game 21 @ Wake Forest

Well we are on the road again, this time in Winston-Salem, NC to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. This will be the first of four trips to North Carolina in the next 21 days. A win guarantees us a winning record on the road in the ACC. It also moves us to 6-1 on the season and 19-2 overall. Last year we didn't get win #19 until the first round of the ACC tournament.

Wake is 10-8 on the season and 2-3 in conference play. Among the similar opponents, they have beaten Coppin State by 29, lost to Duke by 46, beat Virginia Tech in OT by 6 and lost to Georgia Tech by 6. They are 7-2 at home this year. They start 4 guards and an undersized forward. Their tallest player 6'5 Melissa Washington rarely sees playing time and averages 10.8 minutes per game.


They average 69.1 ppg while allowing 66.8. In conference play those numbers are drastically different. They love to shoot the three as they have taken 423 this season and are shooting 32% from that range. From inside the arc, they are shooting 39.7%. They average 37 rebounds per game and only have 49 blocks on the season. With four guards they are able to get in the passing lanes as they have 191 steals, unfortunately they are averaging 18.4 turnovers per game.

Wake is led by the two-headed monster of Cotelia Bond-Young and Liz Strunk. Bond-Young is a quick point guard who does it all. She leads the team in points (17.2), assists (81), steals (42) and is second in 3-pt percentage (33.5%). Strunk is a taller guard who likes to spot up and shoot but can also take people off the dribble. Last year, she scored 40 in a game. She leads the team in rebounding and shoots 40% from the floor. Naughton is a decent three-point shooter, can rebound and collect steals.

Wake Roster | Wake Stats

Keys to the game

Establish inside presence. They have no one who can guard Crystal, Jade or Harper.

Get on them from the start. The last few road games has seen this team come out flat and nearly down double digits before turning it on.

Limit their three-point shooting. They like to shoot it from behind the arc. So we need to get a hand in their face at all times and limit their shooting chances.

Put the game away early. Next week is big with games vs. Miami and Virginia at home. We need to rest some players for down the stretch.

Attack the glass. If we get outrebounded this game, it may be time to work on rebounding drills in practice.


Maryland Game Notes | Wake Forest Game Notes

Langhorne and Doron take the sting out of the Yellow Jackets, 79-71

Well, it took a trip home for Shay to regain her shooting touch and we needed it in the second half. GT and their crazy zone gave Langhorne fits in the first half and then Coleman in the second half, so Shay was called upon to lead us to victory. Shay was a key reason the team built a 16-pt lead with 6 minutes to go. Unfortunately, GT acted like typical bees and wouldn't die, making the last few minutes nail biters. We came away with the win and that's all the matters. We are now 18-2 on the season and 5-1 in the ACC. 3 more ACC wins to clinch a winning record. The win also gives us a two-game lead on Miami and NC State for the final bye in the ACC Tournament.

I give Georgia Tech credit, they are not a good team, but with constant subbing and what looked like a 1-3-1 zone they were able to disrupt the flow of the game and keep it close. Granted close games doesn't guarantee you a new contract, but if you are all for moral victories more power to you.

Game Story | Box Score | Quotes | Notes

Postives

Players stepping up. Coleman did it in the first half, then Langhorne and Doron in the second half. This shows the type of depth we have and also prevents opposing teams from keying on one player.

the Student section. It looks to be growing each game, which is great.

Free Throw shooting. 33 out of 40 is great especially in a close game. My only beef is that we missed some down the stretch again.

Harper. She continues to be a force down low defensively, we just need more out of her offensive game from time to time.

Negatives

The refs. Time for the ACC to fix this problem.

Defense. We let up in the second half for who knows what reason. Maybe we are tired from all these games in so many days, but any time you are up 16, the lead should never get back down to 3.

Rebounding. We got outrebounded last night for the second time all year. As Crystal said there has to be more hustle especially when Crystal is blocked out. She can't get all of them.

Intensity. We lacked it again to start the game. Teams aren't going to roll over and die for us.

Articles
Baltimore Sun
Washington Times

Photos

Game 20 vs. Georgia Tech

Just a brief stop at home before we hit the road again for the game at Wake Forest. This should be a game we win the first half since we are at home and the Yellow Jackets are not one of the better teams in the league. To be honest, I have yet to see GT play this year, so I have no idea what kind of offense or defense they run.

Georgia Tech is 12-6 on the season and 1-4 in the ACC. Our only common opponent is Duke, and they lost 67-59. They are averaging 64.7 ppg while allowing only 55.4. They shoot 39.6% from the floor and 32% from 3. On the otherhand, teams are shooting 33.7% from the field and 26% from behind the arc. Here's the rub though, in conference play the team's numbers are different as opponents are scoring 72 ppg and shooting 40%. So it looks like playing patsies to start the season will help them get an NIT bid and not much else.

Their leading scorer is 5'9 guard Stephanie Higgs, who's averaing 12.0 ppg. She will shoot the three, but she's got almost as many takes as Coleman has makes. Next is Chioma Nnamaka a 5-11 guard who can shoot the 3 (35%) and drive to the hole. Their leading rebounder is 6' forward Janie Mitchell with 7.4 per game. She's giving up 2 to 3 inches to each of our post players. Jill Ingram is the PG but she has more turnovers than assists. Kasha Terry is the other starting forward and she's 6'3, but only grabbing 5.4 rebounds per game. Chances are she will be matched up against Perry.

GT Roster | GT Stats

Keys to the Game

Intensity. Coming off back-to-back lethargic performances, the team needs to jump on GT early and often so that some of the players can finally rest.

Containing Higgs and Nnamaka. Guards have given us fits this year, especially athletic ones, so we need to contain them.

Controlling the ball. GT may want the score to appear closer than it is so we need to get a good shot on each possession.

Three-point shooting. They tend to be tough on the outside shot, so if it's not there, drive to the hoop and dish it to one of the post players for the easy buckets.

Maryland Game Notes | GT Game Notes

It's Official! Sa'de Coming to Maryland

After weeks of speculation and stories, UMTerps.com officially announced today Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood will be a Terp.

She can play next December and has 1.5 years left. Let's see how well that Duke press works next year with Wiley-Gatewood and Toliver on the court at the same time.

Our Newest Terp!

Here are some articles covering the transfer:
ESPN.com
The Diamondback
CSTV

Bracketology

Charlie Creme released his latest bracket and he has the Terps as a two seed in the San Antonio bracket. First it would be Loyola Marymount and then either Florida or K-State in State College.

Jerry Palm put up his bracket and he also has the Terps as a two seed in State College, but playing Dartmouth and then either Louisville or TCU.

Wednesday's Terp Tidbits

The polls are out and we stayed the same in both. Good to see Duke beat UT by more than they beat us and take over the #1 slot.

The new Power Poll still has us at 6.

Clay Kallam put Crystal among his Top 20 Midseason Players

Under the Shell is on tonight at 11 on Comcast SportsNet.

Toliver Takes Over as Terps Beat Hokies, 68-62

I am really getting tired of these road ACC games following the same pattern. Again last night, we built a lead, only to see it evaporate and then go down big at the start of the second half. We played awful in the first half, missing a ton of easy shots and not boxing out. You would figure we would show passion in the second half, but the Hokies decided to get out on the break to start the second half and it resulted in easy bucket after easy bucket. The Hokies lead 39-30, before the Terps stormed back to take a 43-42 lead midway through the half. The teams traded buckets the rest of the way, until super frosh Kristi Toliver decided enough was enough and scored 10 points in a row to help us sweep the Commonwealth this year. If you include George Mason we went 3-0 in Virginia this year. The game wasn't pretty and we played lethargic throughout the game. Didn't help that the refs called 41 fouls or that Harper and Newman were out of the game with 4 minutes to go.

It's a win and puts us a full game ahead of Miami in the ACC standings. Short week for us with GT on Thursday and at Wake on Sunday. We need to put those two teams away early.

Game Story | Box Score

Positives

Crystal dominated again. Aside from a few questionable traveling calls, Crystal took advantage of her weaker opponents by going strong to the glass and scoring a team high 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. We just need to get her the ball more.

Toliver. You would never know she was a freshman playing with a leg injury, the way she has played the last few games. Her shot wasn't falling early on, but it went in when the game mattered most. Also, she played great defense on Mason throughout the game, not allowing her to go off as she normally has against us.

Charmaine. She had the biggest bucket of the night, as she raced down the court picked up a rebound and put it back to give the Terps a 43-42 lead. She also played decent defense in her limited minutes.

Free Throw shooting. We went 9-for-9 in the first half, which singlehandily kept us in the game.

Marissa and Shay. The shots weren't falling so they did the little things. Rebound, play defense and hustle. These two have to stop worrying about their shots too much.

Negatives

The officiating. There were 41 combined fouls in this game and nearly half of them were questionable. It was illegal to breath on certain players, but running people over was allowed.

Turnovers. 20 is too many, especially 13 in the first half.

Free Throw shooting. We missed too many with the game on the line.

Defending slashing forwards. Every game we get burned by a player that can slash to the hoop. This needs to be fixed.

Articles
Collegiate Times

Pictures

Toliver Named ACC Rookie of the Week

She had a great week and was rewarded today with her first career Rookie of the Week award. Couple that with Coleman's several wins and the last 3 years has seen two different Terps win the award each year. Brenda's doing a great job recruiting.

Toliver Named Rookie of the Week

Game #19 @ Virginia Tech

The Commonwealth State road trip ends tomorrow night with a 7 p.m. game against Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum. Tech comes into the game ranked #18/24 and 14-3 on the season. They are 1-3 in the ACC with losses to NC State, Virginia and Wake Forest. They played no one in the non-conference portion of their schedule, but somehow have a high RPI. They have won three straight against us so it's time for the streak to end.

The Hokies are not as athletic as us and tend to play a slow methodical game making the most out of each possession. Last year, Carrie Mason had a field day against us from the perimeter. They don't possess much height aside from their 6'6 junior, who when I saw her play last year was very raw. Finnerty and Jackson are more like Jady Perry type players. Gardin is an athletic forward who attacks the glass and can slash. Judging by their shooting numbers they tend to be post oriented as they are shooting 44% from the floor, but only 32% from 3. Mason and Cook are the three-point shooters. They don't shoot well from the free throw line, and they have high rebounding numbers, but they didn't fare so well against BC and Wake on the glass.

VT Roster | VT Stats

Keys to the game

Dominating the paint. VT has a ton of bodies to throw down there and they have wide bodies to box out Lang and Harper. We have to control the glass and get them in foul trouble.

Limit their three point shots. We lost last year because they had too many wide open looks. Mason is deadly when open.

Control Gardin and Criss. These slashing forwards have given us fits all year.

Limit the Turnovers. The Hokies average only 70 ppg and hold opponents to 62 ppg. We have to make the most of our opportunities.

Play defense like we did in Overtime on Friday. That effort needs to be there for longer than 5 minute spurts.

Shay needs to emerge from her slump. She's averaging 8.9 ppg in ACC play, not what one expects from a First Team All-ACC player.

This game is a must win as it helps separate us from the pack especially with winnable games vs. GT and Wake on the horizon.

Maryland Game Notes | VT Game Notes

Terps Outduel Cavaliers, 84-74, in Overtime

No better way to close down University Hall than with a win! It took us 14 years to get that win, but it felt good to leave the arena last night with a win. The game basically followed our trends from the last few road games. Go down early, rally back to take a halftime lead, then give the halftime lead back, keep it close, do down with 4 minutes to go, call on Crystal to tie the game, play solid defense and then go to OT and take the wind out of their sails. We are now 16-2 on the year, 3-1 in the ACC and 2-0 on the road in the ACC (both at tough places to play). The best part is that we are winning games that last year we probably would have lost. It's nice to have so many weapons at our disposal.

Game Story | Box Score

Positives

Crystal. When it mattered most, Crystal wanted the ball and took over the game in the final minutes and in overtime. Plus she showed enthusiasm, which is something we don't always see out of her.

Harper. I wish she would take people to the hole more often, but she was effective last night in controlling the glass and blocking shots. The boxscore says only 3 but I think she had more and changed the way virginia attacked the lane.

Coleman. She looked hesistant to start, but then she got rolling and showed flashes over her earlier work. She hit the three was necessary, but also drove to the bucket and dished to the open person.

Passing. The first half we did a great job of making that extra pass to get Ashleigh or Marissa an open look.

Defense. Wasn't great the whole game, but when we needed it, the team buckled down and got the stops we needed. Virginia thought they had the game in regulation, our defense told them they were wrong.

Youth. Don't know how many people noticed it, but the 5 players on the court for most of the final 15 minutes were Toliver (FR), Coleman (FR), Harper (basically a FR), Newman (limited playing time SO) and Langhorne (SO). That's very little experience on the court in crunch time and they did what was asked of them.
Negatives

Shay. Her head isn't there right now. She's scared to shoot and is trying to force the action or draw a foul to make an impact on the team. She needs to play within herself and not think too much. We are going to need her to break out of this funk soon.

Fast break. I counted at least 5 missed opportunities on the fast break. 3 of which were settling for quick jumpers with no help and two were off of bad passes. Those should be 10 easy points and with them we don't play overtime.

Toliver's shoot happiness. She's a great shooter and all, but a few times she was throwing up shots early in the possession when it was unnecessary. Maybe it was to please all her fans in attendance.

Articles

Times-Dispatch

Staunton News Leader

Roanoke Times

Pictures

Game #18 @ Virginia

Four days after our win over FSU, we hit the road to the Commonwealth State for two critical games in the ACC Slate. Tonight the trip begins in Charlottesville, Va. taking on the Cavaliers, who beat Virginia Tech on Monday night for their first ACC victory. The Cavs (or Hoos or whatever other nickname they have) are 12-3 on the season and our only like opponents are Florida State, which they lost to by 14 on the road. We haven't faired to well at Reynolds Col. having only won 4 times in the building.

Virginia is led by Seidah Williams who is averaging 11.7 ppg and 4.8 rpg. She's a 6'2 center who is lanky like Black, but not as effective. Tiffany Sardin is next on the team in scoring with 10.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg. Their leading rebounder is Lyndra Littles, a 6'1 freshman, with 8.3 rpg. The star of the team is Sharnee Zoll, who played with Coleman and Langhorne on the U-19 team. She's great at finding the open spot in the lane and creating offense. Her main weakness is that she is not a great shooter. I have seen Virginia play a few times and they rely on their defense a ton. They are holding opponents to .383 FG% and 25% from behind the arc. Their offense is very methodical as Zoll looks to drive the lane and dish it out to Granberry and McGuire (their 3-pt shooters) or dump it off inside on the double team. Virginia is also a poor free throw shooting team.

Virginia Roster | Virginia Stats

Keys to the Game

Limit Zoll's touches. She's not as good as Harding, but our guards tend to have trouble covering quicker players. Hopefully Newman draws this assignment.

Don't help on the drives. Virginia wants you to do this so that McGuire is left open. McGuire can hit the open 3, but she struggles with people in her face.

Use our height advantage. Harper, Perry and Langhorne should be able to control the glass like they did against FSU.

Get the outside game going. Against NC State, UVA was so worried about Stansbury, Goring and Washington that they left McDowell and Ashley Key open, resulting in them getting burned. We need to see the old Marissa back.

Shay needs to break out, but not try and do it all. I know the last three games have been frustrating for her, but she can't go into Shay commando mode where she tries to do it all. Just play your game.

Run the break and don't let Virginia set up their defense.

Maryland Game Notes | Virginia Game Notes

Times-Dispatch Preview

Terp Tidbits

New polls are out and we stayed at 6th. UConn jumped us in both, which is understandable since they beat LSU. We picked up votes in both polls though, impressive considering we didn't play for a week.

The SI Power Poll was released today and we moved up to 6th.

Ed Lee at the Baltimore Sun says a source told him Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood will be a Terp.

Dick Patrick talks about Toliver's return to the court. (Third item down)

Jerry Palm release his new bracket and we dropped to a 6 seed. That's a little ridiculous.

Under the Shell is on tonight at 11 on Comcast SportsNet.

Terps Defeat Seminoles, 75-57

This is what I expect to see from the No. 6 team in the country. Tough defense, clutch rebounds and terrific shooting so that by the second half it's Charmaine and Aurelie time. Florida State played with us for about 10 minutes, mainly because Miller pitched a tent in the lane and had easy buckets for the start of the game. Then the wear and tear of being guarded by Jade and overall lack of conditioning made her ineffective the final 25 minutes and Maryland was able to pull away. The second half was a bore as FSU never mounted a real comeback and even when they attempted to, Kristi would hit a 3 or Crystal would pull down a board.

Game Story | Box Score | Quotes | Notes

Positives

Jade Perry. Jade's confidence from the end of the Duke game looks to have carried over as she was more apt to shoot the jumper then I have seen in several games. Jade needs to provide offense while teams double and triple Crystal. I also think Jade was a little pissed Miller kept scoring on her.

Crystal's rebounding. Someone should tell Crystal she didn't get any rebounds the previous game more often. She was a beast on the glass, with her arms coming out of nowhere to grab rebounds. I was hoping she would get 20, but 19 is not too shabby.

Toliver. Attention ACC: The Virgin Islands Toliver is back. 6 out of 8 shooting, 4 of 4 from behind the arc and several crisp passes. Her turnovers weren't that bad and she seemed to be back in tune with the offense.

Newman. She slashed to the hoop last night, played stellar D and hit the open three at the appropriate time.

Negatives

Turnovers. once again too many, but I think most of them were in the second half.

Coleman and Shay's shooting. It seems to be getting to their heads as they have been off in ACC play.

Free Throw Shooting. It didn't factor in tonight, but when you get to the line 23 times you have to make at least 18.

Articles
Baltimore Sun

Pictures

Game 17 vs. Florida State

It's been 8 days since the debacle against Duke and now it's time to see how the team responds. We should be all rested and even healthier. The only problem is Florida State hasn't played in a week neither.

The Seminoles enter the game 10-5 and 1-1 in the conference with a win over Virginia and a loss to Duke (they nearly lost by the same score we did 87-68). In their last game they held Virginia to under 25% shooting, but that's not saying much as Virginia's offense is very vanilla and relies a lot on outside shooting.

FSU is holding opponents to 40% shooting and 30% from 3. Decent but not overly impressive. They only shoot 66% from the free throw line and turn the ball over as much as we do. They also average 11.1 steals per game, so I assume they press a lot or just happen to be in the right place at the right time.

They are led by senior guard Ganiyat Adeduntan who is averaging 12.8 and 4.7 rebounds. She shoots 35% from 3 second to Mara Freshour's .444. They match up with us height wise and boast of three 6'4 players. Miller is their leading shot blocker and roughly picks up 3 fouls per game so she's not a risk to foul out.

The Keys to today's game:

How well can we contain the perimeter? This a guard laden team and we seem to struggle against faster more athletic guards (see Lindsay Harding and Alexis Hornbuckle).

How will Crystal fare against the taller players? Sometimes she seems to disappear when the people guarding her are taller. Also has she learned how to pass out of the double teams?

How will the team in general respond?

No more predictions from me as the last 3 haven't gone so well.

FSU Roster | FSU Stats

Maryland Game Notes | FSU Game Notes


Tallahassee Democrat Game Preview

Game 17 vs. Florida State

It's been 8 days since the debacle against Duke and now it's time to see how the team responds. We should be all rested and even healthier. The only problem is Florida State hasn't played in a week neither.

The Seminoles enter the game 10-5 and 1-1 in the conference with a win over Virginia and a loss to Duke (they nearly lost by the same score we did 87-68). In their last game they held Virginia to under 25% shooting, but that's not saying much as Virginia's offense is very vanilla and relies a lot on outside shooting.

FSU is holding opponents to 40% shooting and 30% from 3. Decent but not overly impressive. They only shoot 66% from the free throw line and turn the ball over as much as we do. They also average 11.1 steals per game, so I assume they press a lot or just happen to be in the right place at the right time.

They are led by senior guard Ganiyat Adeduntan who is averaging 12.8 and 4.7 rebounds. She shoots 35% from 3 second to Mara Freshour's .444. They match up with us height wise and boast of three 6'4 players. Miller is their leading shot blocker and roughly picks up 3 fouls per game so she's not a risk to foul out.

The Keys to today's game:

How well can we contain the perimeter? This a guard laden team and we seem to struggle against faster more athletic guards (see Lindsay Harding and Alexis Hornbuckle).

How will Crystal fare against the taller players? Sometimes she seems to disappear when the people guarding her are taller. Also has she learned how to pass out of the double teams?

How will the team in general respond?

No more predictions from me as the last 3 haven't gone so well.

FSU Roster | FSU Stats

Maryland Game Notes | FSU Game Notes


Tallahassee Democrat Game Preview

Game 17 vs. Florida State

It's been 8 days since the debacle against Duke and now it's time to see how the team responds. We should be all rested and even healthier. The only problem is Florida State hasn't played in a week neither.

The Seminoles enter the game 10-5 and 1-1 in the conference with a win over Virginia and a loss to Duke (they nearly lost by the same score we did 87-68). In their last game they held Virginia to under 25% shooting, but that's not saying much as Virginia's offense is very vanilla and relies a lot on outside shooting.

FSU is holding opponents to 40% shooting and 30% from 3. Decent but not overly impressive. They only shoot 66% from the free throw line and turn the ball over as much as we do. They also average 11.1 steals per game, so I assume they press a lot or just happen to be in the right place at the right time.

They are led by senior guard Ganiyat Adeduntan who is averaging 12.8 and 4.7 rebounds. She shoots 35% from 3 second to Mara Freshour's .444. They match up with us height wise and boast of three 6'4 players. Miller is their leading shot blocker and roughly picks up 3 fouls per game so she's not a risk to foul out.

The Keys to today's game:

How well can we contain the perimeter? This a guard laden team and we seem to struggle against faster more athletic guards (see Lindsay Harding and Alexis Hornbuckle).

How will Crystal fare against the taller players? Sometimes she seems to disappear when the people guarding her are taller. Also has she learned how to pass out of the double teams?

How will the team in general respond?

No more predictions from me as the last 3 haven't gone so well.

FSU Roster | FSU Stats

Maryland Game Notes | FSU Game Notes


Tallahassee Democrat Game Preview

Terps Tidbits For Friday

ESPN released its first Women's Bracket. Terps are seeded #2 in the Albuquerque Region with a first round match up vs. Bucknell.

Beth Mowins did a story on Shay and her influence on Israeli Basketball.

CSTV's Jennifer Garrison calls the Terps a spoiler for the title.

Three of the Terps have their own blogs now: Marissa | Shay | Crystal. Check them out, they are all good reads.

Terps Tidbits

The first bracket prediction is out and it has us seeded #4 and playing ODU in the first round. To get the bracket use the pull down menus at the top.

Dick Patrick at USA Today confirmed last week's rumor about Wiley-Gatewood in his column this week.

Under the Shell was on last night and although it wasn't as great as the first episode it was still a decent watch. Talked about the B.C. game, the holiday party and the Duke debacle. If you missed it go to the Under The Shell website or watch CSTV on Friday at 5 EST.

We're Still #6.

I guess it's good to have both your losses come at the hands of the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the country. We stayed 6th in both polls, but UConn is gaining on us.

In the SI Power Poll we are ranked 7th.

Rick Maese Covers the Terps

Baltimore Sun did a column on the game yesterday, but I didn't find it until today. It's a good read, hope you enjoy it.

Baltimore Sun's Rick Maese

Updating Next Year's Newest Terps

DeMauria Liles's team is now 13-3 and was recently featured in the Baltimore Sun

Emery Wallace played her first game of the season the other night and scored 9 points in limited time. Great to see her back on the court and hopefully will be ready by training camp next year.