Trip to Santa Barbara is No Vacation

Noto bene: A hello to those of you in cyberspace. I'm John Willmott, one of the women's basketball broadcasters at WMUC. I, along with Scott and a few others, will be dropping in from time to time to offer analysis. Feel free to comment and add your take - we'll try to be as interactive as possible with this.

OK.....they're human.

For those of you that didn't drop $5 to watch the webcast of the Terps taking on UC Santa Barbara late Friday night (or if you were tired from waking up at 3 a.m. to grab that deeply discounted LCD TV), you missed what was easily the most competitive game Maryland has played. Maryland won by a single-digit margin for the first time all season, beating the Gauchos 75-71.

First off, let's make this much clear - this is not the same UCSB team that Maryland destroyed last season at the Comcast Center. Four starters and 11 letterwinners are back from a squad that made its 12th straight postseason appearance last year. They're another year older and wiser and, more importantly, the game was in their place.

With that said, it was still an uncharacteristic performance from the Terps. Maryland had, by far, their worst shooting performance of the year, shooting only 38.3% from the field. That's seven and a half percentage points worse than their previous low, a 45.9% outing against Oklahoma. The three-point shooting wasn't there either, since Maryland set lows for threes made and attempted, as well as three-point percentage.

Worst of all, though, was the lack of scoring balance that the Terps brought to the table. Marissa Coleman, Kristi Toliver and Laura Harper scored 30, 19 and 15, respectively, but the rest of the team only managed 11 points - combined. For a team as deep as Maryland, that's nothing short of disappointing, and while it was enough against the Gauchos last night, it's not going to cut it against the ACC or the rest of the torture test Maryland calls a nonconference schedule.

The two things that immediately jump out, though, are two notable absences for Maryland. Most obvious was Crystal Langhorne, who sat out her sixth game this season with her injury. Also missing, however, was head coach Brenda Frese. Following guidance from her doctor, coach sat out the Thanksgiving trip and left play-calling to her assistant staff.

As amazing as the Terps have been early on, I think we all realized that a game like this was coming. It was simply not realistic to believe that everyone in the Terps' way was going to be destroyed by the 26.5 points per game they had been averaging. This was also the opportune time for it to happen - a Thanksgiving trip out to the West Coast to take on a strong mid-major team bent on revenge is a perfect setup for a closer-than-expected result. Luckily, Maryland was able to get out unscathed.

The other bright spot in all of this - oddly enough - is the fact that Coach Frese wasn't able to make the trip. The day will come when she has to leave to have the twins, and the reins will be handed full-time to the assistants, likely led by first-year assistant Daron Park. As valuable as Brenda Frese is to the Maryland program, any opportunities that her team can get without her at the helm will be incredibly valuable, especially when Coach is forced to step aside full-time.

The Terps will try and return to their prior form tomorrow against UCLA. Again, we won't be there, but we'll be following along. Tip time is at 5:00, and the game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Plus. The Plus must mean it's better, but if you're like me and have no freaking clue where to find it on the dial, head over to CSN and have them straighten you out. Either way, we'll talk to you again live on Tuesday night.

New Look

Yes, it is 3:00 AM, and I am posting... Just transformed the blog into a more user-friendly format in which myself, Dave Vatz and John Willmott will be able to post more easily and frequently. The name "Sudi-Blog" is gone, as that was just lame, plus I'm not the only one posting anymore. Of course it is still dedicated to the Terrapin Women's Basketball team.

I re-posted all of the past entries with the right timestamps. Feel free to leave us comments! Terps play at UCSB tonight at 10:00 EST... We are not there, so we will be following it like most others... through GameTracker. Be back soon with something more substantial... I need sleep now.

The Fantastic Four Freshmen

(by Dave)

In just one night, redshirt-freshman Emery Wallace increased her point total by 900%. She scored 18 points against Loyola, including hitting three shots behind the arc. I wonder what the Vegas odds would have been on Wallace being the leading scorer against Loyola…

Maryland’s rematch against Loyola was a lot like last year’s game in Baltimore, a complete blowout. Maryland never lost the lead after Laura Harper’s opening lay-up in the first five seconds, winning 98-50. Maryland’s lead at one point was 52.

Six players reached double-digit points and six players had at least three rebounds. “Agent Two-Zero” continued to play well with 15 points and seven assists. Maryland was doing everything right; they tied a school record with 12 three-pointers (UNC Greensboro ‘06 and Notre Dame earlier this year) and dominated in the paint.

But Maryland gained something much more valuable from this game. Freshmen Marah Strickland, Kat Lyons, and Drey Mingo all saw at least 26 minutes of play, with Wallace seeing 16. For the latter part of the second half, the four freshmen played together with Ashleigh Newman, and gained valuable experience. It is one thing to practice together; it is another to be out on the court against a real opponent and playing a real game and these players will likely be a big part of Maryland’s team this year.

Strickland, who has been starting in place of the injured Sa’de Wiley-Gatewood, has a deadly 3-point shot and good speed on the court. She finished with 12 points and four rebounds.

Mingo, Marissa Coleman’s favorite freshman, plays a lot like Coleman, a good player that can push into the paint but still threaten from behind the arc. She and Loyola center Vika Sholokhova were an interesting matchup during the last few minutes. She finished with 16 points and six rebounds.

Lyons, Maryland’s future starting point guard after Toliver graduates, is showing good passing as well as a cool head on the court. She also has a good perimeter shot. She finished with six points, eight assists, and three rebounds.

Those four freshmen really got some valuable experience together. Enjoy this kind of time while you have it, as Maryland’s non-conference schedule gets more difficult from here on out. The Terps travel to California next to take on UC-Santa Barbara and UCLA. The Gauchos of UCSB are 2-2 including a 24-point loss to #13/14 Arizona State. The Bruins of UCLA are 3-0, but they haven’t faced a ranked team this season. WMUC won’t be covering the games in California, but we’ll be back after the break when Maryland takes on Pittsburgh. Have a good Thanksgiving everyone!

Meet "Agent Two-Zero" Kristi Toliver

(by Dave)

At Maryland’s press conference:
--Brenda Frese: “The Wizards have Agent Zero (Gilbert Arenas), and we have Two-Zero.”

At LSU’s press conference:
--Head Coach Van Chancellor: "What year is she (Kristi Toliver)?"
--Press: "She’s a junior."
--Chancellor: "Well we won’t be scheduling them next year…"

Later at the same press conference coach Chancellor was asked to compare Toliver to a WNBA point guard, and he said a shorter Diana Taurasi. Not bad considering Taurasi is on the U.S. National Team. And don’t forget that Taurasi herself said Toliver was the best guard in the country.

Kristi Toliver has been lighting it up this season for the Terrapins, capping off her game with 23 points, seven assists, and four rebounds in #3 Maryland’s 75-63 win over #4 LSU. Toliver earned the WNIT MVP for her play in the last three games. In her five games this season, she has averaged nearly 20 points and nine assists a game; not bad considering Maryland’s competition including three ranked teams, two of whom were in the top-6.

But two other players deserve mention. Jade Perry and Laura Harper have been huge for the Terrapins in the absence of Crystal Langhorne. Perry, who earned a place on the WNIT All-Tournament Team, got a wild ovation from the crowd when her name was mentioned on the team. Perry has been matched-up against All-Americans Courtney Paris of Oklahoma and Sylvia Fowles of LSU and has come through. In the final vs. LSU, she earned a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and was often used as a counter to Fowles, during the second half when Fowles was ready to substitute in, and Maryland put Perry out with her to sub in. Same with Harper, who is probably the most underrated player on the team and had to deal with the same All-American players Perry did, stepped up her play with 14 points and six rebounds in the second half of the LSU game. Harper’s play vs. Oklahoma earned her WMUC Player of the Game as her play kept the Sooners down in the frontcourt.

Maryland as a team looked great against LSU, only allowing two players over double digit points and out-rebounding the Tigers 50-34. Turnovers remain a problem for Maryland, as they had 18 to LSU’s eight.

Coach Chancellor also mentioned that the Terrapins are capable of winning a national championship after this game. Considering Maryland has defeated powerhouses LSU and Oklahoma by double digits without the services of Crystal Langhorne and Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, it isn’t a stretch for anyone to think this. Though, there is still a long season to play, and Maryland has plenty of games to go. Maryland is now 5-0 and awaits the Loyola Greyhounds on Tuesday night.

#3 Terps - #4 Tigers

It’s a potential Final Four matchup on November 18th, #3 Maryland vs. #4 Louisiana State. The status of Crystal Langhorne is unclear. She has missed 3 of the first 4 games of the season while recovering from an ankle sprain she suffered in practice about 3 weeks ago. She has been day-to-day, and will be a game-time decision today.

She may be greatly missed on the block today as the Terps take on Preseason All-American, Wade Trophy Candidate and Wooden Award Candidate Sylvia Fowles. Through 3 games, Fowles as compiled averages of 17 points, 7 rebounds and almost 3 steals a game. She is a walking double-double, as the senior has notched 63 in her career.

The fact is, Fowles is going to get hers. At 6-foot-6 she will be able to control the paint, and it will be up to the Terrapins to control the rest of the Tiger players. If Langhorne is to play today, that will be another body to go up against Fowles down low, as well as providing another option on the offensive side of the ball.

Quianna Chaney, a 5-foot-11 senior guard for the Tigers, can put the ball in the basket as well. She is shooting 47% from 3-point range so far this year, averaging almost 18 points a game. Both she and Fowles scored 25 this past Thursday against #17 Michigan State.

Both teams today are experienced, as they both rank in the top 5 in the nation in career starts. Both teams have played tough competition already and won, with the Terps beating then-#6 Oklahoma and #23 Notre Dame, while the Tigers beat #17 Michigan State in the WNIT Semifinals on Thursday.

They key for a Maryland win will be to contain the players surrounding Fowles. If the other 4 players on the court don’t burn the Terps, then Maryland will have a much better chance to continue on undefeated and win the WNIT Championship. The Tigers have the same mentality though, wanting to stay undefeated. They will no doubt be looking to shut down the lethal 3-point shooting of Kristi Toliver.

It should be a fun one. Catch the pregame at 2:40 right here on WMUCsports.com, with the tipoff at 3:00. I will be on the call alongside Dave Vatz and Kyle Cox.