Dec. 31, 2004
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Virginia Tech (9-2) vs. #17/17 MARYLAND (10-1)
Sunday, January 2, 2005 • 1:00 p.m.
Cassell Coliseum • Blacksburg, Va.
QUICK HITS
• The Terps' 10-1 start is their best since starting the 1991-92 season by going 20-1. The eight-game win streak is the longest since winning nine in a row in 1996-97.
• Maryland head coach Brenda Frese is five wins shy of career number 100.
• Maryland No. 17 national ranking in the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll ties for the highest this season. The Terps garnered a 17th-national rating last week in both polls.
• The Terps are 16-3 in non-conference games since Comcast Center opened in 2002-03 and have won 28 of 32 non-conference matchups at home the start of the 2000-01 campaign.
• Maryland has scored at least 72 points in nine of its 10 wins this season and is 27-6 when scoring at least 70 points under head coach Brenda Frese.
• The Terps have had at least three double-digit scorers all but two games and a 10+ rebounder eight times.
• Freshman Crystal Langhorne has connected on 75.9 percent of her shots in the last three games.
• Freshman Crystal Langhorne and sophomore Shay Doron were both a point shy of tying the Comcast Center scoring record on back-to-back nights. Langhorne had 26 against UMass on the first day of the Terrapin Classic while Doron netted 26 vs. Marshall. The 26 points are season highs for both players.
TERPS OPEN ACC ACTION AGAINST LEAGUE NEWCOMER
• No. 17/17 Maryland opens the ACC schedule and makes its first television appearance of the season when it travels to Blacksburg, Va., to face league newcomer Virginia Tech on Sunday, Jan. 2. The game airs live on the ACC's Regional Sports Network (Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports South, Sunshine Network) at 1 p.m.
• The Terps look to extend their eight-game win streak when they battle the Hokies. Maryland's 10-1 start is its best since going 20-1 to start the 1991-92 campaign.
TERPS ON TV
• Maryland makes its first television appearance of the season at Virginia Tech on Jan. 2. It is the first of at least five TV appearances, including three national telecasts. The Jan. 2 game airs on the ACC's Regional Sports Network (Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports South and Sunshine Network).
• Maryland's first national broadcast is slated for Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m. when the Terps host top-10 opponent and ACC foe North Carolina. That game airs on Fox Sports Net. The Terps will be on Fox Sports Net, once again, when they travel to Ariona on Jan. 29. Maryland appears on ESPN2 when it hosts Duke on Feb. 13.
• Maryland's home game vs. NC State, an regional broadcast, is the only other game currently scheduled to appear on television on Jan. 23.
LAST TIME OUT: TERPS CAPTURE TERRAPIN CLASSIC
• For the second-consecutive year, Maryland captured its home tournament title and improving to 11-1 all-time in the Terrapin Classic. The Terps edged out UMass, 67-63, on the first day of action and then topped Marshall, 83-68, in the championship game.
• Three Terrapins were honored with all-tournament accolades which was voted on by the media and the coaches. Freshman Crystal Langhorne was named the tournament MVP after averaging 23.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg. She also posted her fourth double-double of the season with 26 points and 11 rebounds vs. UMass. Sophomore Shay Doron and senior Anesia Smith were selected to the all-tournament team. Doron averaged 22 ppg in the two contests and Smith set the Comcast Center single-game record with 14 assists in the championship game.
TERPS IN THE POLLS
• After making a steady climb in the polls, the young Maryland Terrapins are ranked 17th in this week's USAT Today/ESPN Coaches and Associated Press polls. It is also the eighth-straight week the Terps have been among the top 25 in both polls and second-straight in the top 20.
• Three Maryland opponents are featured in this week's polls, including top-ranked LSU and ACC foes Duke (#2/2) and North Carolina (#6/5). Arizona, who hosts the Terps in late January for a national television broadcast, is 25th in the Coaches poll and is receiving votes in the AP ranking. Four other conference opponents are receiving votes in either poll, including Florida State, NC State, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.
• The Terps have run out to an 8-1 record this season with their only loss coming against the No. 1 Lady Tigers.
• Last week's top 20 ranking in both polls was the first time since the week of Dec. 27, 1993. That was also the last year the Terps were featured in the top 20 in both polls prior to this season.
ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH
• After opening the season at 2-2, Virginia Tech has won its last seven games, including a 71-70 upset, overtime victory over then-No. 12 Texas Tech in the championship game of the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas, Nev., on Dec. 19, to enter the new year at 9-2. The Hokies returned home to win their home tournament, the Lady Luck Classic, with wins over Southern Miss (105-40) and Davidson (87-62).
• The Hokies, who are 4-0 on their home court this season, are led by senior Erin Gibson and junior Carrie Mason, who are averaging 13.0 and 10.4 points per game each. Gibson also leads the team with 6.4 rebounds a game. Virginia Tech has had a lot of success on its home court, winning over 70 percent of its games at Cassell Coliseum, going 13-3 last year.
• The Hokies are under first-year head coach Beth Dunkenberger. Prior to arriving in Blacksburg, Va., she was the head coach at Western Carolina for four seasons where she was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year twice. Dunkenberger makes a return to Virginia Tech after spending almost 10 years there as a graduate assistant and an assistant coach from 1988-97.
• Virginia Tech is 26-56 all-time against teams currently in the ACC.
SERIES VS. VIRGINIA TECH
• Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 3-2, after defeating the Terps last season in Blacksburg, Va., 63-43.
• Even with the Hokies' success on their home court, the Terps have won in Cassell Coliseum. Maryland defeated Virginia Tech, 68-60, in overtime on March 18, 2000, in the WNIT.
TERPS IN ACC OPENERS
• The Terps are 20-7 all-time in ACC openers, including 9-5 when opening the conference slate on the road. Maryland has lost the last four road ACC openers in a row.
PICKING UP THE SLACK
• With the departure of Laura Harper, the Terrapin post players have had to step up to make up for the 13 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game Harper was contributing. In the two games of the Terrapin Classic, classmate Crystal Langhorne posted back-to-back 20-point games, averaging 23.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, eight points and a rebound more than her season average. She went on to be named Terrapin Classic Most Valuable Player after helping the Terps win their home tournament for the second-straight year.
• Another freshman, Jade Perry has stepped in to start in place of the injured Harper. She averaged 6.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg over the two-game tournament.
LETHAL WEAPONS
• Maryland has proven hard to defend with its strong inside/outside game. Opponents will not be able to zero in on just one player to contain the Terrapin offense. Averaging 77.3 points per game, the Terps are third in the ACC in scoring behind North Carolina (82.6) and Duke (77.8). With four different players reaching the 20-point plateau (including the injured Laura Harper), the Terps and the Tar Heels are the only teams with two players among the top 10 in the conference in scoring.
• The Terrapins are also second in the ACC in shooting at .466. Maryland has shot above 50 percent from the field five times this season. Second in the ACC in field goal percentage, freshmen Crystal Langhorne has shot better than 50 percent in nine games this season. Classmate Laura Harper is currently ranked third. She was shooting .570 through nine games before being sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury.
HARPER SIDELINED
• Freshman Laura Harper suffered an Achilles tendon injury of her left ankle at practice on Monday night and will be sidelined for the remainder of the season. She will undergo surgery to repair the tendon later this week.
• Harper, who comes to College Park after earning McDonald's and Parade All-America honors as a high school senior and helped the USA Junior World Championship team to a gold medal this summer, was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Nov. 29. Averaging 13.2 points per game while leading the conference in rebounding with 9.8 boards per game, she posted three double-doubles this season, including a 17-point and 16-rebound outing vs. No. 1 LSU.
AMONG NATION'S BEST
• As of Dec. 20 (stats prior to Coppin State game), four different Terrapins are ranked among the nation's top 50 in four statistical categories. Freshman Laura Harper is the only Terp ranked in two categories. The ACC's leading rebounder, she is 25th with 9.9 rpg. She and classmate Crystal Langhorne rank 41st and 15th, respectively, in field goal percentage. Senior Anesia Smith is 22nd with 5.9 assists per game.
• As a team, Maryland is in the top 15 in four different statistical categories. Its 11.1 rebounding margin is 7th overall in the nation. The Terps are also 13th in scoring offense (77.1) and in field goal percentage (.475) and 14th with a +21.5 scoring margin. Check out the chart at the bottom right-hand corner of page three to see where the Terps rank among Division I's 324 teams in every statistical category as a team.
SMITH SETS COMCAST CENTER RECORD
• In the championship game of the Terrapin Classic, senior Anesia Smith handed out 14 assists in the 83-68 win over Marshall, breaking the Comcast Center record. The 14 helpers is also a career high for the fourth-year senior. The lone four-year Terrapin letterwinner, she is the ACC's assists leader, averaging 6.45 apg.
• The 14 assists is tied for the third-most in a game this season in the country. West Virginia's Yolanda Paige dished out 18 assists on Nov. 22, 2004, the most by any Div. I player this season.
DOUBLING UP
• Freshman Crystal Langhorne leads the team with four double-doubles and has combined with classmate Laura Harper and sophomore Kalika France to post eight on the season. Prior to suffering a season-ending Achilles tendon injury, Harper had three double-doubles through nine games and was a rebound short of her fourth in her last outing of the season vs. Coppin State. France had her first double-double of the year in the championship game of the Terrapin Classic.
• Five current Terrapins have reached double-doubles:
Player Career 2004-05
Charmaine Carr 1 0
Kalika France 2 1 (Marshall)
Laura Harper 3 3 (Siena, LSU, St. Bon)
Crystal Langhorne 4 4 (Loyola, Xavier, St. Bon., UMass)
Angel Ross 3 0
THAT 70s SHOW
• Since head coach Brenda Frese took over the program during the 2003-04 season, the Terps are 27-6 when scoring 70 points or more and 21-1 since last year. Maryland has scored at least 72 points in each of its nine of its 10 wins this season.
• The Terps are also 13-1 when netting 80 or more points under Frese and 6-0 when scoring at least 90 points since Frese has been at the helm.
MOVING UP
• It took just one season, but sophomore Shay Doron has already made her way into the Maryland record books. After making her mark on the free throw record, she has her sights set on the three-point charts. She moved into seventh place with 41 treys after entering the season ranked 10th in the school record books. Her 128 attempts behind the three-point line is eighth overall.
DORON'S DIARY
• Get up close and personal with sophomore Shay Doron. Read her diary on www.espn.com every two weeks or by going through www.umterps.com.
MARYLAND PICKED THIRD IN ACC PRESEASON POLL
• After being picked to finish eighth in the previous two Preseason ACC Media Polls, the Terps jumped five spaces to third in the 2004-05 version, garnering two first-place votes. Last year, Maryland ended the season in a surprising third-place tie with NC State.
• North Carolina was predicted to end Duke's six-year stranglehold on the ACC regular-season title, while the Blue Devils were picked to place second in the league. League newcomers Virginia Tech and Miami round out the top five, respectively.
LANGHORNE SELECTED PRESEASON ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
• Newcomer Crystal Langhorne became the first-ever Terrapin to be named ACC Rookie of the Year when it was announced at ACC Media Day. Langhorne was rated the top post player in the nation last year according to the All-Star Girls Report and was a McDonald's, Parade, Street & Smith's and WBCA All-American.
• Since 1991 when the preseason picks began, the preseason honoree has been the actual honoree seven times.
TERRAPINS 12TH IN ATHLON POLL
• Maryland was 12th in this year's Athlon College Basketball Annual, the Terps' highest preseason ranking. Only three ACC teams were among the preseason top 25. North Carolina was seventh in the poll while Duke was ninth.
DORON EARNS PRESEASON HONORS
• Doron, who was the first Terrapin freshman to ever earn All-ACC honors, was named to the Naismith Player of the Year watch list. In addition, Street & Smith's selected Doron a Honorable Mention All-American in its college basketball preview edition. She was also voted to the Preseason All-ACC squad at the ACC's Media Day.
FRESE SIGNS RECRUITS
• Head coach Brenda Frese announced the signing of two of the nation's top recruits. High school seniors Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at the University of Maryland beginning 2005-06. The Blue Star report rated this class the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation, making it the second-straight year Frese has secured a top-five recruiting class.
UP NEXT
• Maryland comes home for a nationally televised contest when it hosts No. 5/7 North Carolina on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net and Comcast Sports Net.
