Maryland Women's Basketball Looks to go 2-0 in ACC
1/3/2004 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Jan. 3, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Game Notes: vs. Virginia (5-6, 0-1 ACC)
Saturday, Jan. 4, 1 p.m.
Comcast Center (17,950)
College Park, Md.
Terps Looking to go 2-0 in Conference Action
* After coming off of a 68-56 win over NC State in its conference opener, Maryland is looking to go 2-0 in the ACC since the 1993-94 season when it hosts rival Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 4 at 1 p.m.
* The Terps' contest vs. the Cavaliers is the first of at least six television appearances for Maryland. The game can be seen on Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports South or the Sunshine Network.
* The Terps' busiest week of the season, Maryland started out the week defeating cross-town rival Georgetown in the Surf-N-Slam Tournament in San Diego, then played its ACC opener at Comcast Center on Jan. 2. The Terps close out a three-game week against the Cavaliers.
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.
Game Time Change
* The Terps first road ACC game at Wake Forest on Friday, Jan. 9 has been changed to an 11 a.m. tip-off. The Demon Deacons are hosting a Middle School Day, an event rescheduled from a previous game due to bad weather. That game was going to be broadcast by Johnny Holliday, the Voice of the Terps', on the Maryland Radio Network but has been cancelled. Another game will be scheduled at a later date.
Last Time Out: Terps Win ACC Opener
* Capturing its biggest ACC win since the 2001-02 season, Maryland defeated NC State, 68-56, in its ACC opener at Comcast Center. Bishop McNamara alums freshman Kalika France and senior Crystal Washington each posted double-doubles to lead the Terps to victory.
* ACC Rookie of the Week Kalika France scored a career-high 19 points to complete her first-career double-double. She also grabbed 10 rebounds to tie a career best. Crystal Washington tore down a career-best 13 boards and had 10 points for her third-career double-double.
* The Terps never trailed after going ahead 11-10 with 11:23 left in the first half, but the Wolfpack never trailed more than five points in that period. Maryland used a 10-0 run to go ahead 50-35 in the second half and then went ahead, 52-36, for its biggest lead of the game. NC State cut the lead to five points with 3:08 remaining in the game, 55-50, but the Terps, the best free throw shooting team in the league, was perfect in 10 trips to the free throw line and pulled away for the win.
* The 12-point margin of victory is Maryland's biggest over an ACC team since a 62-50 win over Florida State on Jan. 6, 2002. The Terps also win their ACC opener for the first time in three years.
Series Vs. The Cavaliers
* Virginia leads Maryland in the all-time series, 38-21. The Terps have lost the last six meetings against the Cavaliers and have won just one game in the last 24 matchups (since 1992-93). The Terps' last win over the Wahoos was a 76-71 decision on Feb. 24, 2000. The most memorable win in the series was when Maryland, then the No. 3 team in the nation, topped UVA, the No. 1 team in the nation, 67-65, on Jan. 15, 1992 in Charlottesville.
In the ACC Statsv * As of Jan. 1, several Terps rank among the top 10 in a number of key statistical categories in the ACC. Junior Alli Spence leads the conference with a .500 three-point field goal percentage and 2.00 three-point field goals made. She is also third with 5.33 assists per game and sixth with a 1.92 assist-to-turnover ratio, a category which teammate Anesia Smith is the conference's leader at 2.54.
* Freshman Shay Doron is 10th in the conference in points per game (12.4) and ranks third in free throw percentage (.836). Having the best season of her career, senior Crystal Washington is eighth in the ACC with a .535 shooting percentage and third with a 1.45 blocks per game.
* Maryland has seen much improvement under second-year head coach Brenda Frese. The Terps are the best free throw shooting team in the ACC at .734. Last year, Maryland ended the season ranked eighth at .616. Maryland is also the conference's leader with a .415 shooting percentage from three-point land, which is up from its 2002-03 rate of .316.
France Garners Weekly Recognition
* Freshman Kalika France was named the ACC's Rookie of the Week on Dec. 29. France scored a career-high 18 points in the Terps' loss to No. 3/3 Texas Tech at the Surf-N-Slam Tournament. She was 8-for-15 from the field and also connected on her only two attempts from beyond the three-point line. She was instrumental in Maryland's defensive effort which limited the Lady Raiders to a season-low 32.8 percent shooting.
Charge It!
* Maryland has drawn at least one offensive foul in every game this year. Freshman Shay Doron has been the main culprit of the Terps streak. She took a charge Maryland's first 11 games of the season. That streak was snapped in the win vs. NC State. Prior to Doron's arrival in College Park and playing as a member of the Israeli National Team, she drew a single-game record of six charges against the Croatian National Team.
Oliver Looking Perfect
* Senior Delvona Oliver has made 15 trips to the free throw line this season and has converted on all 15 opportunities. After going 13-for-13 from the free throw line, she had not had a free-throw opportunity for five-straight games. She went to the line again against Georgetown and has hit on her last four trips to the line to remain perfect.
* Maryland leads the league in team free throw percentage at .734 (146-199 as of Jan. 1). The Terps have made a huge improvement at the charity stripe. Last year, they were eighth in the ACC with a .616 free throw percentage.
Terps Double Up
* Four different Terps have posted double-doubles this season and in each case, the players have accomplished that feat for the first time in their careers.
* Senior Crystal Washington's 18 points and 10 rebounds against Niagara were career highs. She has gone on to post double-double two more times, most recently in the Terps' ACC opener vs. NC State, grabbing a career-high 13 boards to go along with 10 points.
* ACC Rookie of the Week Kalika France notched a career high vs. the Wolfpack, netting 19 points and tied her career high with 10 rebounds to help Maryland to its first ACC win of the season.
* Senior Delvona Oliver netted 18 points and grabbed 10 boards in the win over Sacred Heart for her first-career double-double as a Terp.
* Sophomore Chrissy Fisher needed just 20 minutes for her first-career double-double. She had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the first half against UMES and ended the game 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
* Sophomores Charmaine Carr and Angel Ross and senior Vicki Brick are the only other current Terps to ever post double-doubles. Carr had 14 points and 11 rebounds against Rider on Nov. 29, 2002. Ross accomplished that feat three times last season.
Moving Up
* Two Terps are ascending up the Maryland record books. Fifth-year senior Vicki Brick broke into the top 10 in career steals last year and now ties for eighth in the record books at 212. She also ranks 12th with 324 career assists.
* In just one season, sophomore Chrissy Fisher has already made her mark in the Maryland record books. One of the best three-point sharp shooters in school history, she ranks sixth in the career record books with 53 three-pointers made and with 146 three-point field goals attempted. Entering the season with a .382 field goal percentage behind the arc, she ranked fourth-best all-time.
Protecting the Home Turf
* The Terps are 7-1 this season at Comcast Center, improving their all-time record at home to 370-107 (.776) 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).
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.
Turtle Tracks...
* All five starters scored in double-figures in the 76-61 win over Loyola. Senior Crystal Washington and freshman Shay Doron paved the way, eaching scoring game-highs of 14 points.
* Maryland's four freshmen scored in double-figures to lead the Terps to a 72-38 rout of UMBC. Rookie C'Vette Henson tallied a career-high 12 points to lead all scorers.
* Freshman Kalika France has pulled down five or more rebounds in six of Maryland's 12 games. She grabbed a season-high 10 in her first-collegiate game vs. Coppin State and tied that mark in the Terps' ACC opener vs. NC State to complete her first-career double-double.
* Expected to make an immediate impact this season, freshmen Kalika France and Shay Doron have accounted for a third of the team's points. Doron has reached double-digit scoring seven times, reaching the 20-point plateau twice. France has scored in double-figures eight times, including the last six games. Both lead the team in scoring (France - 12.2 ppg; Doron - 11.3 ppg)
* Senior Crystal Washington has already surpassed her point total from a year ago. This season, she has netted 108 points, topping the 55 points she scored in 15 games last season. Prior to this year, Washington had never started in a game.
* Senior Crystal Washington's two blocks against No. 3/3 Texas Tech tied a career-high with 16 blocks on the season, tying her then-career high which she set during the 2000-01 season. She broke that mark and leads the team with 19, 11 more than she had last season. She is currently third in the ACC with 1.45 blocks per game (as of Jan. 1).
* 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). She then dropped 19 points at St. Bonaventure for her first back-to-back double-digit outings of the season.
* Junior transfer Alli Spence has been red hot from three-point land. A career .328 shooter from behind the arc while at Old Dominion, she leads the ACC with a .500 three-point shooting percentage (as of Jan. 1). As of Dec. 15, she is tied for 19th in the nation in three-point shooting percentage.
* 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 (71.3 vs. 67.4), shooting better from the field (.428 vs. .414) and from three-point land (.419 vs. 316). The Terps have also seen a lot of improvement from the charity stripe, leading the ACC at .734 (as of Jan. 1). Last year, they were second-to-last in that category in the conference at .616. The Terps' 9-3 record is also better than they were through their first 12 games last year, going 6-6.
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.
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
* The Terps travel to Wake Forest for its first ACC road game on Friday, Jan. 9. The game time has been changed to 11 a.m. as part of the Middle School Day the Demon Deacons are hosting.
