This stings a little bit

The look on Kristi Toliver's face here just about says it all. At the time, I thought Maryland came out with a good gameplan and just had an off-night. But now that I've had a day to think about it, I really think that the Terps took Louisville for granted a little bit. They were the popular pick to win this game. Heck, there's no doubt they should have won, on paper. But that's why games aren't played out on paper, and for the second year in a row the Terps did not make it past the Elite Eight.

How could things have come out differently? We talked extensively about last year's game against Stanford, about Candace Wiggins going off for 41. Nobody was beating Stanford that night. I think Brenda Frese and the Terps were so concerned about being beaten by a single player that they did not focus as much on other players. Angel McCoughtery certainly gave the Cardinals major contributions, but Louisville won this game because of Deseree Byrd, Becky Burke and the secondary players on their roster. Louisville certainly had a far superior defensive game plan, and looking back I think the Terrapins could have stood to be a lot more aggressive defensively. Inside presence was lacking, but they let Louisville slow the game down so much at times that they were able to move the ball at will, and that showed in their team assists numbers.

Because they did such a good job slowing the ball down and taking away Maryland's chances at a clean break, this game really reminded me of the Maryland-Rutgers game on December 3, 2007. Sure, the Terps didn't shoot the ball well, and that gave them no chance. But they never ran their transition game cleanly, and when that happened, they were in trouble from the start. Louisville imposed its style of play, and they took advantage.

The only real bright spots on the night was Dee Liles's 17 rebounds, tying her career high (set a week ago against Utah), and Marah Strickland's 15 points. For Dee, I expect to see her assume more of a Marissa Coleman-type role next season; she worked throughout the season to develop a mid/long-range jump shot, and has ample time to work on ball-handling before her senior season. Marah will be competing for a spot in the lineup with Lori Bjork, and will need to become more consistent. She's shown flashes of brilliance (including the ACC Championship game, where she helped the Terps with 11 big points), but for every game where she shoots the lights out, she has at least two like Vanderbilt (0-1 FG, 1 point). Her ball-handling isn't great for a guard, and if she can develop that part of her game, she can become more of a threat inside off the pump-fake.

I see this team struggling a little bit next year. They'll be aided greatly in the ACC by the fact that the other two powers are losing big players as well, but right now I think it'll be very tough to repeat in Greensboro. As for the NCAA Tournament? Well, they've lost to inferior teams (on paper, again) the last two years; teams that used snubs on Selection Monday to their advantage. Perhaps when the Terps assume that role (because right now, I can't see them taking a #1 seed again), they can use the motivation. Who knows; I thought they would take a step back this season, and this season could be considered more successful than last. Maybe they come out with a strong freshman class. They'll need to get Lynetta Kizer to live up to her potential, and I think Anjale Barrett, with work on her ball-handling, can run the point. It can definitely happen.

So that'll do it for this season for me. It has been a pleasure to bring you this season over the airwaves. Quickly, would like to thank Rob Dawson, Jamie Forzato and Brian Kapur (and anyone else I may have forgotten) for their work in the studio during the NCAA Tournament.

John Willmott should be along later tonight to wrap things up. Until next year...

--HD