Women's Basketball Plays Final Non-Conference Home Clash
12/18/2003 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
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GAME 9
vs. UMBC (0-5 as of Dec. 17)
Saturday, December 20, 1 p.m.
Comcast Center Gymnasium(17,950)
College Park, Md.
TERPS PLAY LAST NON-CONFERENCE HOME CLASH
* The Maryland women's basketball team battles UMBC in its final game of the year before welcoming 2004. It is also the Terps' final non-conference home clash. The game will be played in the Comcast Center Gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 20 with tip off slated for 1 p.m.
* The Terps look to go undefeated against teams from their home state, having already beaten Coppin State, Loyola and UMES this season.
TERPS DOMINATE OLD LINE STATE
* The Terrapins have dominated other Maryland teams in women's basketball over its 33-year existence, compiling a 63-8 all-time record against those teams. Only Loyola, Towson and Western Maryland have ever recorded wins over the Terps.
* The Terps have not lost to a Maryland squad since a 50-43 setback at Loyola on Nov. 17, 1998.
LAST TIME OUT
* Maryland dropped just its second game of the season and first road matchup, losing to No. 20/18 Virginia Tech, 63-43, in Blacksburg, Va. Freshman Kalika France posted her second-straight double-digit outing, pacing the Terps with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
* A low scoring affair to start the game, the Terps were within 21-15 at the break. However, a 13-0 run in the second half gave the Hokies a 21-point lead and Maryland was not able to come back. Fellow freshman Shay Doron and junior Anesia Smith both added 10 points each in the losing cause.
ABOUT THE RETRIEVERS
* After failing to make the Northeast Conference Tournament in 2001-02, the Retrievers went all the way to the championship game last year under then-first year head coach Phil Stern despite a No. 7 seeding. Stern will face many challenges this season. Not only has UMBC lost all five starters from last year's squad and seven letterwinners overall, while adding six newcomers, but the Retrievers are also in their first season in the America East after making the jump from the NEC at the end of last year.
* UMBC is 0-5 heading into a Dec. 18 contest vs. American. The Retrievers have struggled to score, averaging 39.4 points per game and shooting just .326 from the field. Junior Anastasia Goncharova is the only player averaging double-digit scoring at 10.2 ppg. Freshman Sharri Rohde is the team's leading rebounder, grabbing 5.8 boards per game to go along with 6.2 ppg.
* UMBC was 14-16 last year and 9-9 in the Northeast Conference finishing seventh in the league.
SERIES VS. THE RETRIEVERS
* UMBC is one of seven Maryland teams to have never defeated the Terrapins, losing all six tries. Playing for the fourth-consecutive year, the two teams have played five of the six meetings in College Park.
NOIREZ CLEARED
* Forced to sit out the first eight games of the season because of international eligibility status, freshman center Aurelie Noirez has been cleared by the NCAA to play for the Terps. A native of France, she will add depth to the post position and could see playing time against UMBC.
IN THE ACC STATS
* Several Terps ranks among the top 10 in a number of key statistical categories in the ACC. Junior Alli Spence leads the conference with 6.67 assists per game. She is also tied for second in three-point field goal percentage (.500) and three-pointers made (2.33). Her 2.22 assists-to-turnover ratio is fourth-best in the ACC.
* Freshman Shay Doron is seventh in the conference in points per game (14.5) and free throw percentage (.830). Having the best season of her career, senior Crystal Washington id third in the ACC with a .579 shooting percentage and third with 1.75 blocks per game.
* Maryland has seen much improvement under second-year head coach Brenda Frese. The Terps lead the ACC with a .743 team free throw percentage after ending 2002-03 ranked eighth at .616. Maryland is also second in the conference behind Florida State in three-point field goal percentage at .422, which is up from its 2002-03 rate of .316.
IN THE NATIONAL STATS
* Junior Alli Spence is tied for 10th in the nation with 6.7 assists per game. She is also tied for 19th with a 50.0 percent three-point shooting percentage.
* Maryland's .422 three-point shooting rate is 11th in the nation.
PROTECTING THE HOME TURF
* The Terps are 5-1 this season at Comcast Center, improving their all-time record at home to 368-107 (.775) for one of the best all-time home records in the country. Entering the 2003-04 season, College Park was ranked 27th all-time for best city record. Cole Field House, which was the home of the Terps from 1974-2002, ranks as the 46th-best home venue all-time at 288-95 (75.2 percent).
OLIVER LOOKING PERFECT
* Senior Delvona Oliver has made 13 trips to the free throw line this season and has converted on all 13 opportunities. She is one of three players in the ACC who has not missed from the charity stripe. Duke's Iciss Tillis has hit on 20 free throw opportunities and Georgia Tech's Megan Harpring is 12-for-12 from the line.
* Maryland leads the league in team free throw percentage at .750 (120-160). The Terps' have made a huge improvement from the line. Last year, they were eighth in the ACC with a .616 free throw percentage.
THE DISH ON SPENCE
* Junior transfer Alli Spence has led the team in assists in all but one game she has played in, handing out a career-high 10 helpers in the win over Niagara. As a result, she is averaging a league-best 6.67 assists per game. She is also third in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.2.
* The 10 assists Spence handed out against Niagara is not only a career high but is also the most assists dished out by an ACC player so far.
TERPS RECEIVE VOTES IN WEEKLY POLL
* Maryland is receiving votes in the Nov. 24 AP Top 25 Women's Basketball Poll. The Terps got off to their best start in four years, going 4-0.
DORON SETS RECORD, TIES NCAA MARK
* In her first-collegiate game, freshman Shay Doron made 23 free throws in the 79-64 win over Coppin State, tying the NCAA record for makes and breaking the ACC and Maryland records. Her 27 attempts were also a conference and school records.
TURTLE TRACKS...
* Freshman Kalika France has pulled down five or more rebounds in half the games played. She grabbed a season-high 10 in her first-collegiate game vs. Coppin State.
* Expected to make an immediate impact this season, freshmen Kalika France and Shay Doron have accounted for 34 percent of the team's points. Doron has reached double-digit scoring six times, reaching the 20-point plateau twice. France has scored in double-figures four times.
* Senior Crystal Washington has already surpassed her point total from a year ago. This season, she has netted 84 points, topping the 55 points she scored in 15 games last season. Prior to this year, Washington had never started in a game.
* Washington's team-leading 14 blocks is six more than she had last season. She is rapidly approaching her career-high of 16 which she set in 2000-01. She is currently third in the ACC with 1.75 blocks per game.
* Junior transfer Alli Spence's career-high 22 points vs. No. 8/8 Penn State was more than she scored in the first four games of the season (20 points). Since then, she has posted back-to-back double-figure games, dropping 19 points at St. Bonaventure. Spence has sat out the last two games because of illness.
* Junior transfer Alli Spence has been red hot from three-point land the last two games she played. She is shooting at a rate of .500 from beyond the arc, going 14-for-28. Spence sat out the last two games because of illness. She is tied for 19th in the nation and tied for second in the ACC in 3-point shooting.
* The Terps' 6-1 start this year was their best since going 7-0 in 1991-92. That year, Maryland finished 25-6 overall and 13-1 in the ACC, reaching the NCAA Tournament Mideast Regional. The Terps also went 6-1 in 1992-93 and 2000-01.
* In head coach Brenda Frese's second season, the Terps are already seeing improvement. Maryland is scoring more (74.6 vs. 67.4), shooting better from the field (.452 vs. .414) and from three-point land (.422 vs. 316). The Terps have also seen a lot of improvement from the charity stripe, leading the ACC at .743. Last year, they were second-to-last in that category in the conference at .616.
TOP RECRUITS SIGN WITH MARYLAND
* Head coach Brenda Frese announced the signing of four of the nation's top recruits, bringing even more excitement to the New Era of Women's Basketball as the Terps look to return to national prominence. Laura Harper, Crystal Langhorne, Jade Perry and Ashleigh Newman have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball in College Park beginning the 2004-05 season. Full bios and list of accomplishments can be found on www.umterps.com.
MARYLAND ON THE TUBE * The Terps will make at least six television appearances this season as part of the ACC women's basketball schedule. Maryland's first televised contest is against Virginia in Comcast Center on Jan. 4.
TERPS ON THE AIRWAVES * For the second-straight year nearly every Maryland women's basketball game can be heard over the radio airwaves either by the Terrapin Sports Network or by Maryland's student radio station, WMUC. Voice of the Terps Johnny Holliday returns as play-by-play announcer on the Terrapin Sports Network and will be announcing six of the Terps' games.
* Games airing on the Terrapins Sports Network can be heard on affiliates throughout Maryland and Baltimore areas. Maryland home and road games broadcast by WMUC can be heard on 88.1 FM as well as on the web at www.wmuc.com and www.wmucsports.com.
UP NEXT
* After the holidays, the Terps head to California for the Surf-N-Slam Tournament hosted by the University of San Diego. Maryland faces its third ranked opponent of the season, facing No. 3/3 Texas Tech to open the tournament on Dec. 28 at 11 p.m. ET. Georgetown and host San Diego square off early in the evening at 9 p.m. ET. The championship and consolation games will be played on Dec. 30 at 9 and 11 p.m. ET.
