November 17, 1998
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland women's basketball youth movement continues this week with local road bouts at Loyola and Howard. The Terrapins travel to Baltimore on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. encounter with Loyola, in hopes of avenging a 57-50 loss at home a year ago. On Friday, Maryland battles crosstown D.C. foe Howard, also at 7 p.m.
Game Facts and Coverage
#2 - Maryland at Loyola (Md.) #3 - Maryland at Howard
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 17 Date: Friday, Nov. 20
Time: 7 p.m. Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Reitz Arena (3,000) / Baltimore, Md. Site: Burr Gymnasium (2,000) / Washington, D.C.
Radio & TV: None. Radio & TV: None.
TERRAPIN HEAD COACH CHRIS WELLER
Chris Weller (Maryland '66) has guided her alma mater to a national championship game and three Final Four appearances. Now in her 24th season, she has engineered an unprecedented eight ACC championships while compiling a 447-222 (.669) record. In 1995, she became just the fifth coach in women's college basketball history to earn at least 400 victories at the same school. Three years earlier, her Terps were No. 1-ranked for a month which led to her naming as the 1992 Naismith and United States Basketball Writers Association national coach of the year. A member of the WBCA legislative committee, she also has coached three different U.S. Select Teams. Weller was a member of Maryland basketball, lacrosse and swimming teams as a student-athlete.
QUOTING COACH WELLER
On UNC Greensboro game: "We are very young and we are not going to be as successful as we'd like to be, right off the bat. I was very pleased with our effort and I thought we played hard. We struggled with things that are due just to a lack of experience. They sat in a tight zone the entire game, and we just couldn't hit our shots. The fact that we didn't get some things done wasn't due to a lack of effort by any means. They went to the line 20 times and we went to the line 13, and that's a stat that has to be reversed. There are just a lot of things we will get better at. I thought we played hard and I thought Greensboro played a great game. They knocked down all their shots, and they looked more poised and more experienced, which they were."
On stopping penetration: "That's a part of our problem. Not only are we not experienced, we lack perimeter quickness right now, too. We've only worked on a zone defense for a short time. [UNC Greensboro] scored 63 points, and our goal is to hold people to 60, so I don't think our defense was that bad. They just hit their shots. Our biggest problem was getting much going offensively against their tight zone. Marche Strickland is a good shooter, if she'd hit a few more of her shots, it might have been a different game."
On upcoming games: "Our next game is against a [NCAA] Tournament team, and our next game is against a [NCAA] Tournament team. I know that we are very young, and maybe we shouldn't be playing tournament teams right off the bat, but you have to play this level of team to get ready for the ACC. We're not going to nationals based on anything we do out of conference, because the only way we can get wins early, out of conference and based on missing Kelley [Gibson] and Tiffany [Brown], would be to play teams that really have no power rating. We have to bite the bullet and play teams that do. Greensboro's a pretty good team, maybe they'll win their league again and be in the NCAAs. Loyola's a good team. Howard's a good team, they both might win their conferences also. It's going to help us get ready for the ACC. Our only hope of getting into the NCAAs is to do reasonably well in the ACC, and the only way to do that is play legitimately good teams right off the bat. And lose if that's what it takes, but get some valuable experience that we don't have right now. We're going to be a very different team as soon as we get Tiff and Kelley back. We'll be a much quicker team, and a so much more experienced team, especially on the perimeter. And I think our young players are going to be very decent players, too. If we can clean up our turnovers and keep from fouling, and knock down some better shots, I think we'll be alright."
On lineup with four freshmen and Antonieta Gabriel: "That lineup is what you're going to see a lot of. That's who we are. In part because of missing Tiff [Tiffany Brown] and Kelley [Gibson], and in part because a lot of talent really is so young, we will have four freshmen in the lineup an awful lot of the time. I thought Toni really played like a leader and stepped up her game. She knows that right now, she has to. We're depending on her experience even though last year she really didn't play that often, herself. We have to look to her to help guide all the freshmen on the floor. Everybody is learning right now. And there's a lot to learn."
OPPONENT COACHES
Loyola head coach Pat Coyle (Rutgers '76) is 96-76 as she begins her seventh season with the Greyhounds. Howard's Sanya Tyler (Howard '80) is 263-246 in her 20th season, both overall and with the Lady Bison.
SERIES HISTORY
The Terps are 6-2 all-time against Loyola despite a 57-50 setback to the Greyhounds in last season's home opener at Cole Field House. Maryland was a 63-36 victor in its last trip to Loyola (12-10-96), but fell 73-68 two years prior (12-22-94).
Against Howard, Maryland is 23-0 including last season's 59-48 victory. The Terps and Lady Bison have met at least once annually since 1976-77.
RECORDS
Maryland is 0-1 following last Saturday's 63-45 loss to UNC Greensboro. Loyola opens its regular season with the Maryland game on Tuesday. Howard is 0-2 following a pair of tournament losses last weekend at Florida International. The Lady Bison fell 89-66 to Western Kentucky and 77-44 to host FIU.
The Terps, using six freshmen and playing without their lone senior, Kelley Gibson (Easton, Md.), and junior point guard Tiffany Brown (Clinton, Md.) for injury and eligibility reasons, respectively, dropped a 63-45 season-opening decision on Saturday to defending Southern Conference champion UNC Greensboro. Three Terrapins scored eight points in the loss. Freshman Deedee Warley (Fort Washington, Md.) paced Maryland with seven rebounds.
LAST GAME
First National Bank of Maryland Court at Cole Field House - Nov. 14, 1998
UNC Greensboro 63, Maryland 45
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Katie Del Campo and Brianne Dodgen each scored 13 points and combined to shoot 10 of 13 from the field to help lead defending Southern Conference champion UNC Greensboro to a 63-45 non-conference women's basketball win over Maryland.
In what was the season-opening game for both teams, UNCG (1-0) shot 53 percent to just 35 percent for Maryland (0-1), and took advantage of 29 Terrapin turnovers.
The Spartans took a lead midway through the opening half, and led by as many as 12, 29-17, with 1:57 left in the period. The Terps pulled within 35-27 early in the second half before a 9-0 spurt put UNCG in command, 44-27, with 10:34 to play. Samika Foster scored seven of her 11 points during the run and Maryland never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
A young Terrapin lineup consisting of as many as four and five freshmen on the floor at a time, got eight points apiece from freshmen MarchE Strickland and Ije Agba, and junior college transfer Cara Ferris. Freshman Deedee Warley's seven rebounds helped Maryland to a 35-26 advantage on the boards.
UNCG Min FG 3FG FT O-D Reb F A T B S Pts
M. Goodson f 26 5-7 0-0 2-3 1-5 6 3 2 3 0 1 12
Del Campo f 34 5-7 0-1 3-4 1-1 2 1 2 3 0 3 13
Kreter c 28 1-3 0-0 0-0 0-1 1 4 1 2 0 0 2
Gwaltney g 23 1-5 0-2 2-2 0-2 2 4 3 3 0 0 4
Smith g 33 1-3 1-1 2-4 1-4 5 1 3 4 0 1 5
Cook 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Foster 19 5-12 1-2 0-0 0-2 2 2 4 2 0 3 11
Reid 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0
B. Goodson 10 1-1 0-0 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 1 0 0 3
Dodgen 21 5-6 1-1 2-5 1-4 5 2 0 2 0 0 13
Team 2-1 3
Totals 200 24-45 3-7 12-20 6-20 26 20 15 21 0 8 63
Maryland Min FG 3FG FT O-D Reb F A T B S Pts
Gabriel f 31 1-1 0-0 0-0 2-1 3 0 2 2 0 1 2
Ferris f 33 4-5 0-0 0-0 3-1 4 2 1 8 1 2 8
Warley f 18 1-2 0-0 0-0 3-4 7 3 1 3 0 0 2
Bogunovic c 13 3-6 0-0 1-2 2-0 2 3 0 2 0 0 7
Strickland g 37 2-20 0-5 4-4 1-2 3 3 3 3 0 1 8
Ilic 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Perry 27 2-8 2-6 0-0 0-5 5 3 3 7 0 4 6
Agba 20 3-3 0-0 2-5 0-4 4 4 0 0 0 2 8
Melbourne 19 1-4 0-0 2-2 3-3 6 3 0 4 2 0 4
Team 1-0 1
Totals 200 17-49 2-11 9-13 15-20 35 21 10 29 3 10 45
UNC Greensboro (1-0) 31 32 - 63
Maryland (0-1) 22 23 - 45
FG% - UNCG .533, Maryland .347.
3FG% - UNCG .429, Maryland .182.
FT% - UNCG .600, Maryland .692.
Technical Fouls - none.
Officials - Lewis, Fusco, Lippa.
A - 1,124.
MARYLAND (0-1, 0-0 ACC)
N14 UNC Greensboro L 45-63
N17 at Loyola (Md.) 7:00 p.m.
N20 at Howard 7:00 p.m.
N24 Hampton 7:30 p.m.
D2 Western Michigan 7:30 p.m.
D5 * at Clemson 7:00 p.m.
D10 at Penn State 7:30 p.m.
D13 * Wake Forest 2:00 p.m.
D22 Rutgers 7:30 p.m.
D28 TERRAPIN CLASSIC
Richmond vs. UMass 4:30 p.m.
Maryland vs. Coppin St. 6:30 p.m.
D29 TERRAPIN CLASSIC
Consolation Game 5:30 p.m.
Championship Game 7:30 p.m.
J2 * Duke 2:00 p.m.
J8 * at Virginia 7:30 p.m.
J10 * at North Carolina 4:00 p.m.
J14 * NC State 7:30 p.m.
J17 * Florida State 2:00 p.m.
J21 * at Georgia Tech 7:00 p.m.
J28 * Clemson 7:30 p.m.
F1 * at Duke 7:00 p.m.
F3 Morgan State 7:30 p.m.
F6 * at Wake Forest 2:00 p.m.
F8 * Virginia 7:00 p.m.
F11 * North Carolina 7:30 p.m.
F15 * at NC State 7:00 p.m.
F18 * at Florida State 7:00 p.m.
F21 * Georgia Tech 2:00 p.m.
F26- at ACC Tournament (Independence Arena, Charlotte, N.C.)
M1 Sum ACC game
Tuesday, Nov. 17
Virginia Tech at Duke, Syracuse at North Carolina, Maryland at Loyola (Md.), Davidson at Wake Forest
Wednesday, Nov. 18
Furman at Clemson
Thursday, Nov. 19
Louisiana Tech at Florida State, UNC Wilmington at North Carolina
Friday, Nov. 20
Maryland at Howard, Wofford at Clemson
Saturday, Nov. 21
Fordham at North Carolina, UNC Asheville at NC State, Georgia Tech at Davidson, Duke at Notre Dame
Sunday, Nov. 22
Virginia at Arkansas State, Florida State vs. Long Beach State (Seminole Classic)
Monday, Nov. 23
Duke at Vanderbilt, Florida State hosts Seminole Classic
NOT AN EASY BEGINNING
All four Maryland games to tip off the regular season are against teams which advanced at least to their respective conference title games.
- Maryland's first four opponents boast a combined record of 83-31 (.728) from last season. The Terps open the '98-99 campaign at Cole Field House on Nov. 14 against Southern Conference champion UNC Greensboro (21-9). A drive to Baltimore on Dec. 17 pits the Terps against upset-minded Loyola which upended Maryland last season in College Park en route to a 20-9 record and second place finish in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Crosstown rival and three-time NCAA participant Howard (23-7) hosts the Terps on Nov. 20. Maryland entertains MEAC runner-up Hampton (19-5) on Nov. 24.
BEST CLASS SINCE '85-86?
Not since the freshman campaign of current pros Deanna Tate and Olympian Vicky Bullett has Maryland welcomed a freshman class with as much promise. The Terps boasted seven freshmen out of 15 players in 1985-86, compared to six of 13 on this season's roster.
The '85-86 team finished 17-13 overall and just 6-8 in the ACC, but rebounded to win the sixth of Chris Weller's eight ACC tournament titles. Maryland fell to Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
NOT JUST FRESHMEN, (VERY) LOCAL TOO
Maryland's bumper crop of freshmen includes a quartet of local stars that come widely regarded by local and national publications. Ije Agba, Rosita Melbourne, Ginji Perry and Deedee Warley all prepped at D.C.-area high schools and received All-Met honors by the Washington Post.
Melbourne arrives as potentially the best post athlete during Weller's tenure and was a highly regarded recruit nationally.
Perry was the All-Met Player of the Year in 1996-97. All played their high school ball within 20 minutes of the Maryland campus.
A LOOK BACK TO LAST YEAR'S OPENERS
Looking back to last season, the Terps fell convincingly in their opening game also. At Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights defeated Maryland 67-44. Four nights later, the Terrapins were upended by Loyola in Maryland's home opener, 57-50 at Cole Field House.
All told, the Terps wound up 15-13 and advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
POINTS AND REBOUNDS BY CLASS
Out of 45 points and 35 rebounds by the Terrapins last Saturday against UNC Greensboro, Maryland freshmen accounted for 28 points and 25 boards, 62% and 71%, respectively. The most significant upper class perforamances were turned in by returning starter Branka Bogunovic (Zemun, Serbia) with seven points and two rebounds, and eight points and four rebounds from JC newcomer Cara Ferris (Pensacola, Fla.).
UP AND DOWN FOR GABRIEL
Forced into a leadership role on the heels of 17 limited appearances in 1997-98, Antonieta Gabriel (Virginia Beach, Va.) played every minute of Maryland's exhibition opener against Tapiolan Honka, scoring 12 points and leading the Terps with 13 boards. Both would have been personal bests were they in a regulation game.
Against Kazakistan, however, she was limited to two points and four boards in 33 minutes, and in the opener against UNCG, she scored two points with three rebounds in 31 minutes.
ASSISTS AND SHOOTING
Missing from the Terp lineup in the early-going are a pair of guards in Tiffany Brown and Kelley Gibson - easily the Terps' most athletic returning starters, and the top returning scorers and assist makers from a year ago.
Evidence of their loss thus far has been poor shooting (57-172, .331, in three games counting exhibitions), and lackluster ballhandling by a team comprised mostly of freshmen and almost exclusively by newcomers. Maryland has combined for 25 assists and 73 turnovers in three contests.
Freshman Marche Strickland has been forced into the role as Maryland's primary ballhandler in the early going, but came to the Terps as a primary shooting threat. She has averaged 12.7 points with just one assist in two exhibitions and one regular season game. She has averaged 36.3 minutes.
BROWN AND GIBSON OUT EARLY
The Terps will take on the early part of the 1998-99 schedule without returning starters Kelley Gibson and Tiffany Brown.
Gibson, the team's lone senior, team captain and Maryland's leader in assists (4.3) and blocks (0.6) last season, re-tore the ACL in her right knee during preseason workouts. It marks the third of her five seasons that injury to one knee or the other has resulted in missed action. She hopes to return for games in early January.
Brown is academically ineligible for the fall semester, and hopes to return for the Terps' non-conference date with Rutgers on Dec. 22. Brown is the Terps' leading returning scorer from 1997-98, averaging 7.3 points per game. She also is Maryland's career 3-point field goals leader after just two seasons.
NEW ROSTER ADDITION
Leah Moore (Rye, N.Y.) joined the team prior to the exhibition season, and dressed for the first time vs. Kazakistan. Moore is a sophomore who did not play last season and last played at Rye High School.
1998-99 UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROSTER
No. Name Ht. Pos. Cl.-Exp. Hometown/HS (Previous School)
30 Ijeoma Agba 6-0 F Fr.-HS Rockville, Md./Wheaton
55 Branka Bogunovic 6-8 C Jr.-2V Serbia, Yugoslavia/Zemun
3 Tiffany Brown 5-6 G Jr.-2V Clinton, Md./Elizabeth Seton
33 Cara Ferris 6-1 F Jr.-JC Pensacola, Fla./Washington (Pensacola JC)
32 Antonieta Gabriel 6-0 F Jr.-1V Virginia Beach, Va./Salem (U. of D.C.)
45 Kelley Gibson 5-11 G-F Sr.-3V Easton, Md./Easton
24 Marija Ilic 5-11 G Fr.-HS New Belgrade, Yugoslavia/Ocean City, N.J.
42 Rosita Melbourne 6-3 F-C Fr.-HS Washington, D.C./H.D. Woodson
12 Michelle Miller 5-9 G Jr.-1V Dayton, Md./Glenelg
10 Leah Moore 5-8 G So.-HS Rye, N.Y./Rye
25 Ginji Perry 5-11 G Fr.-HS Hyattsville, Md./Elizabeth Seton
20 MarchE Strickland 5-9 G Fr.-HS Kingston, Mass./Silver Lake
34 Deedee Warley 6-2 F Fr.-HS Fort Washington, Md./St. John's
Head Coach: Chris Weller (Maryland '66/24th season)
Assistant Coach: Christy Winters (Maryland '90/2nd season)
Assistant Coach: Jeanette Armentano (Queens College '81/1st season)
Assistant Coach: Karl Smesko (Kent '93/1st season)
Director of
Women's Basketball
Operations: Jimmy Howard (Greensboro College '86/1st season)
ACC MEDIA DAY ; STRICKLAND EARNS VOTES
Maryland was tabbed for a seventh-place finish in the ACC this season in voting by league media at last weekend's ACC Media Day in Charlotte. Among players earning recognition around the league, Terp freshman MarchE Strickland (Kingston, Mass.) earned three votes toward selection as the 1997-98 media preseason ACC Rookie of the Year.
Duke, which claimed its first-ever regular season ACC women's title in 1997-98, was picked to repeat this season on the strength of its 13 returning players, including all five starters. Second in the voting was Virginia, followed by defending tournament champion North Carolina, Final Four participant NC State and tournament finalist Clemson. Florida State was sixth, Georgia Tech was chosen eighth and Wake Forest ninth.
NEXT GAMES
The Terrapins host Hampton a week from Tuesday (Nov. 24) prior to a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. Maryland returns from post-turkey festivities to host Western Michigan on Dec. 2.
RADIO/TV SCHEDULE
Sixteen Maryland women's basketball games will be carried on live radio this season. Recently added to the broadcast schedule is a trio of games to be aired on the Maryland/Learfield network which includes Baltimore-based WBAL (1090-AM) the flagship station for women's basketball.
Games carried on WBAL and the Maryland/Learfield network are: the ACC opener on Dec. 5 at Clemson; Dec. 10 at Penn State; and Jan. 8 at Virginia.
Campus radio station WMUC (650-AM and 88.1-FM) carries 13 home Maryland women's basketball games this season beginning Dec. 2 vs. Western Michigan.
The Terps appear on four regionally televised games. All four games fall during the ACC season beginning with a Jan. 21 date at Georgia Tech. Subsequent dates include Maryland at Duke on Feb. 1, Virginia at Maryland on Feb. 8, and Maryland at NC State on Feb. 15.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS
0 The number of seniors that have played for Maryland so far this season.
1 Maryland's scoring defense led the Atlantic Coast Conference last season with an average of 60.2
points allowed per game. The Terps allowed just 59.4 in ACC action.
2 Three-point field goals by Ginji Perry vs. UNC Greensboro.
She was the only Terp to score a 3-pointer.
3 Only three classes of players under Chris Weller have failed to participate in at least one
Sweet Sixteen appearance.
6 Maryland welcomes six freshmen to its 1998-99 roster. It is the most freshmen to grace a
Maryland roster since seven in 1985-86.
7 Deedee Warley's seven rebounds led Maryland to a 35-26 rebounds advantage against UNCG.
8 The number of team-high points scored vs. UNCG by Marche Strickland, Ije Agba and Cara Ferris.
8 The Terps have captured an unprecedented eight ACC championships.
9 The number of teams on the 1998-99 Terrapin schedule that qualified for last season's
NCAA Tournament.
14 The number of games on the 1998-99 Terrapin schedule against participants in
last season's NCAA Tournament.
20 The number of field goal attempts by freshman Marche Strickland vs. UNC Greensboro.
36.3 The number of minutes averaged by freshman guard Marche Strickland through two exhibition games
and one regular season game.
1998-99 ACC Standings
ACC Overall
Teams W L Pct. W L Pct.
No. Carolina 0 0 .000 2 0 1.000
Clemson 0 0 .000 1 0 1.000
Florida St. 0 0 .000 1 0 1.000
NC State 0 0 .000 1 0 1.000
Virginia 0 0 .000 1 0 1.000
Wake Forest 0 0 .000 1 0 1.000
Duke 0 0 .000 1 1 .500
Maryland 0 0 .000 0 1 .000
Georgia Tech 0 0 .000 0 1 .000
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