Terps Taken Down in Tarheel Land

The #4 Terps put up a strong fight, but the #3 Tarheels proved too strong in the end, taking home the victory 96-87 in Carmichael Auditorium.

In a game that started with the Tarheels surging ahead 20-10, Maryland took advantage of bad matchups and pulled within a tie at 31-31. UNC would regain the lead at the half 37-33, but the Tarheels had a problem, senior forward Erlana Larkins, who obtained eight points and six rebounds thus far, had three fouls. The Terps had their own problems; they were 1-10 from beyond the arc and had allowed 10 offensive rebounds.

Maryland focused their play on the frontcourt and tied the game at 46-46. From there, Maryland pulled off a huge 11-4 run that silenced the crowd with around 10 minutes left. The Tarheels called timeout, and Coach Hatchell made her adjustments. Thanks to strong play from freshman point guard Cetera DeGraffenreid and Larkins, UNC had back the lead within two and a half minutes. Maryland would get back the lead with key baskets from Kristi Toliver, but both Laura Harper and Jade Perry now had four fouls. With 3:35 left in the second half, a jumper by Toliver put Maryland up 71-67. Despite strong defensive play from the Terps, UNC managed to tie the game, but missed the final shot, so the game went to overtime.

The signs "Overtime is Our Time" were held up by two people from Maryland's marketing department as overtime began. Maryland's last game was a double overtime thriller with Georgia Tech, but this situation was different. Maryland had foul trouble, where as UNC did not. The first overtime went back and forth. Despite that Harper fouled out, the Terps had a chance to make the final shot with the score 79-79, but Toliver's shot missed, and to a second overtime this game would go.

With Harper out, the Terps knew they had to be careful. They were still running 7-deep. Disaster struck when Perry fouled out five seconds in. Coach Park decided to adjust the 3-2 to put Marissa Coleman in the frontcourt and put Ashleigh Newman in back with Toliver and Marah Strickland. Despite a valient effort, the Tarheels dominated the frontcourt with LaToya Pringle and Larkins with good shooting and offensive rebounds, and the Terps fell in the end.

Although this is a hard loss to swallow for the Terps, it may turn out very beneficial. The Terps playing 7-deep finally came back to hurt them when Harper and Perry fouled out, severly hurting the front court play. The good news for Maryland is that the next two games, against Miami (8-12, 1-4 ACC) and at Virginia Tech (13-8, 0-6 ACC) shouldn't be difficult contests. Drey Mingo may see a lot more playing time now to help relieve this problem, as well as Kat Lyons and Emery Wallace. Maryland has time to make adjustments to the issue. Even though this probably needs to be fixed, the Terps are still 22-2 and one of the best teams in the nation despite going 7-deep through many games.

Maryland may have lost against UNC, but I doubt this will be the last time the Terps see the Tarheels. Whether it be the ACC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament, they'll face each other again.