Maryland Women's Basketball Ranked No. 7 in Preseason Poll
10/13/2005 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 13, 2005
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland women's basketball team has earned high praises in four publication's preseason polls, including a No. 7 ranking by Slam Magazine. Street & Smith's also rated the Terps No. 10, while Lindy's and Athlon's put the team at No. 13. 2005 ACC Rookie of the Year Crystal Langhorne and Kodak/WBCA Honorable Mention All-American Shay Doron also earned preseason recognitions. All four magazines are available at newstands now.
With the addition of the No. 4-ranked recruiting class in the nation, head coach Brenda Frese's squad boasts six high school All-Americans. Among them are Wade Trophy and Wooden Award preseason candidates Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) and Doron (Great Neck, N.Y./Christ the King), who both had impressive seasons last year and are coming off outstanding summers playing internationally. Langhorne was among Street & Smith's "Terrific 10" and was named a second team preseason All-American by Athlon. Street & Smith's also selected Doron a Honorable Mention All-American for the second-straight year. The two led the team in scoring last year, combining for 34.8 points per game, while Langhorne led the ACC with 10.6 rebounds per game.
Among the four starters returning is junior Kalika France (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara), a Parade High School All-American in 2003 and an Honorable Mention All-ACC pick as a freshman. A McDonald's and Parade All-American in 2004, sophomore Laura Harper (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) looks to make a return to the court after missing most of last season because of an Achilles' tendon rupture. She started the first nine game of the season before being sidelined.
Highly touted recruits Marissa Coleman (Cheltenham, Md./St. John's College [D.C.]) and Kristi Toliver (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) join the team this season, making them the second-consecutive top-five recruiting class to come to Maryland, and third-straight to be rated in the top 10. McDonald's and Parade All-Americans last season, both were selected their home state's Gatorade Player of the Year. Coleman also spent the summer playing with Langhorne on the Under-19 U.S. National Team, helping the team win two gold medals, including capturing the U19 FIBA World Championship title.
The Terps are coming off one of its most successful seasons in recent history, winning 22 games last year, the most since 1992-93. Under Frese, who enters her fourth season, Maryland also made its second-straight trip to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, while reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second-consecutive year. The team also ended last season ranked 24th in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, appearing in the final poll for the first time since 1991-92.
The team celebrates the official start of basketball season with Maryland Madness on Friday night, October 14 at 8 p.m. The Terps play their only exhibition game vs. EA Sports on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m.
SLAM1. Tennessee 2. Duke 3. Ohio State 4. LSU 5. North Carolina 6. Baylor 7. MARYLAND 8. Connecticut 9. Georgia 10. Michigan State
Street & Smith's
1. Duke 2. Tennessee 3. LSU 4. North Carolina 5. Ohio State 6. Connecticut 7. Georgia 8. Michigan State 9. Texas Tech 10. MARYLAND 11. Texas 12. Stanford 13. Baylor 14. NC State 15. Minnesota 16. Rutgers 17. New Mexico 18. Notre Dame 19. Temple 20. DePaul 21. Arizona State 22. Boston College 23. George Washington 24. Western Kentucky 25. Louisiana Tech
Lindy's
1. Duke 2. Tennessee 3. Rutgers 4. Georgia 5. Baylor 6. North Carolina 7. Ohio State 8. Connecticut 9. Michigan State 10. LSU 11. Stanford 12. Texas 13. MARYLAND 14. Purdue 15. Vanderbilt 16. UCLA 17. Texas Tech 18. Notre Dame 19. Minnesota 20. Oklahoma 21. USC 22. Utah 23. Temple 24. Arizona State 25. NC State
Athlon
1. LSU 2. Duke 3. Ohio State 4. Tennessee 5. Georgia 6. North Carolina 7. Baylor 8. Stanford 9. Michigan State 10. Connecticut 11. Rutgers 12. Texas 13. MARYLAND 14. Texas Tech 15. Notre Dame 16. USC 17. NC State 18. Arizona State 19. Utah 20. Arizona 21. DePaul 22. Minnesota 23. Oklahoma 24. Purdue 25. Florida State
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