Follow the 2005-06 Maryland women's basketball season through the eyes of freshman Marissa Coleman. Coleman is a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year and a McDonald's and WBCA All-American. This summer, she was in her second stint with the U19 USA Basketball team, helping the U.S. win a gold medal at the U19 FIBA World Championship.
Feb. 22, 2006
Two regualr season games left! The season is flying by. It seems like we just had our first game a few weeks ago. We are all very excited that our last two regular season games are at home. We can finish out our regular season at home with our great fans. These last two games are going to help us prepare for the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
I'm looking forward to the ACC Tournament. We are going to get the chance to prove a lot of people wrong that overlook us and think Maryland can't win an ACC Championship. We're ready to play our best ball and hold up the championship trophy.
Our last game against NC State was a pretty exciting game. The game was called Hoops for Hope and it was to raise awareness and raise money for breast cancer research. It was also NC State's senior game. So the gym was full of people wearing pink and cheering their seniors on. It's always fun to go into a game full of people cheering against you ... it gets you extra motivated. We played won and played pretty well. After the game they did a presentation to coach Kay Yow and presented her with a really nice painting. The event was pretty special and we were happy to be a part of it.
I think we have a really good chance of contending for an ACC and National Championship. This time of year (championship time) is always an exciting time of year, so we are all excited to get the postseason underway.
Feb. 14, 2006
Even though we lost to Duke last night, I still think we had a pretty great couple of days of basketball. We beat UNC and had another hard fought battle against Duke. We played hard but we made mistakes that cost us in the end. Its something we realize we have to work on and we will be fine once the ACC Tournament starts.
Last night was a pretty eventful night for me. To make a long story short, I bent my friend kim's car keys (by slipping on ice and breaking my fall with her keys) and then locked them in her car while it was running. All this happened right when we got back to campus from Duke, so it was about 1 a.m. Luckly, she had a spare set of keys at her house, that was only about 10 minutes away, so i only delayed us about 30 minutes.
This season is going by so quickly, I cant believe we only have three ACC games left. We need to finish out these last few games out strong to help us prepare for the ACC Tournament and the NCAA's. These last few games are very important for us so we all have to bring our focus and be ready to play.
Feb. 10, 2006
We just got to UNC and everyone is very excited and ready to play. We had a fun trip on the plane and even more fun on the bus.
We arrived in North Carolina and went directly to dinner. Afterwards, we were all upset that we couldn't get dessert, so we went on the bus and started listening to music and dancing while the coaches and staff all enjoyed their dessert in the restrarant. Once everyone got on the bus we put in a cd of all slow songs and all sang the whole way to the hotel. We sang some Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. We had so much fun singing all the classic love songs. Those are the times that make road trips so much fun, just spending time with your teammates acting goofy and having fun.
Once we got to the hotel and got settled in we watched film and relaxed a little bit then went to bed. We had shootaround this moring, which went really well. It was intense and everyone was focused and ready to go out tonight and play MARYLAND WOMENS BASKETBALL!
Wish us luck!
Jan. 27, 2006
We pulled out another close game against Virginia Tech Thursday night and had a pretty close game against Georgia Tech yesterday. We are halfway through the ACC season, so these last seven games are very important in helping us win an ACC championship.
We leave tomorrow afternoon for Wake Forest. We are all looking forward to this game to work on mistakes we have been making in our last few games. A win will also get us closer to our goal of winning a championship. Every game in the ACC is tough and counts.
We have a new teammate! Sade Wiley-Gatewood who transferred from Tennessee. She fits in so well with the team. She is just as goofy as the rest of us. She practiced with us for the first time today and I could already see a difference in our practice. She brings so much to our team. She is a great player, vocal and intense which helps us a lot. She makes us want to be more intense and communicate more on the basketball floor. She is definitely a great fit for Maryland women's basketball and is just going to make us that much better of a team and help us achieve our goals.
Jan. 18, 2005
After we played Duke, we had an eight-day break from games, which was good because we got a couple of days off to rest.
Last Friday night, the majority of the team went to the movies and saw Glory Road. It was a really great movie and got everyone on the team more eager to win a National Championship. I learned that that historical game between Texas-Western and Kentucky took place at Cole Field House. It was a fun and relaxing night with the team. We always have such a great time when we are all together.
The next morning, it was back to practice. We all came focused and ready to work hard. We had a really great practice that day and then we all enjoyed the rest of our day off. Monday we played Florida State. We all knew that this was going to be a big game for us because we just came off a loss and we needed to get back on our winning track.
We came out in the beginning of the game a little slow but we picked it up and finished the game strong. We won 75-57. Crystal Langhorne was amazing that game. She had her 26th-career double-double and finished with 19 rebounds! She was interviewed after the game by the TV commentators, Debbie Antonelli and Beth Mowins, so we went in the locker room to watch. They were talking about her great rebounding game and the in the lower corner of the TV it said, "Rebounds: Floridia State 26 Langhorne 19." We all thought it was funny that she had 7 less rebounds then the whole FSU team!
Our next game is against Virginia at their place on Friday. I love road trips. They are always a lot of fun and there is never a dull moment with our team. This is going to be another big game for us so we have to come out ready to play. We have two hard days of practice left to prepare for the game and then we have Virginia Tech on Monday. Wish us luck.
Jan. 9, 2006
Well, we are just about halfway through the season and I can't believe how fast my freshman season is going by. So far, my freshman year has been pretty smooth and exciting, especially with basketball. My transition from high school has been good mainly because of the help and patience of my teammates and coaches.
I am so happy with my decision to come to Maryland. I couldn't be happier! I have such great teammates and coaches who I have so much fun with. We are such a great team and should accomplish some special things this season.
We are all excited that we have finally started ACC play so we can show everyone what Maryland women's basketball is all about.
Our first ACC game came down to the last couple of seconds and we ended up winning in OT at Boston College, who is ranked 19. Our second ACC game was against No. 2 Duke. I was so excited for that game. It was at our home court and we had a huge crowd. We didn't play our best game, however, and ended up losing. We never like losing but it was a learning experience and we are looking forward to seeing them at least two more times.
Our first practice after the Duke game was very intense and everyone came focused and ready to work. Before practice we watched film from the game and realized what we had a lot to work on. Practice went well and we all felt like we got better that day. Our next game is against Florida State at home on Monday. I think we are all excited to get back on the court, go out and get a win after the loss to Duke. We just need to stay focused the next few days and be ready for our game Monday and be ready to play Maryland Basketball...
