#6/6 Terps Travel to #18/24 Virginia Tech on Monday
1/22/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2006
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
GAME 19
#6/6 Maryland Terrapins (16-2, 3-1) at
#18/24 Virginia Tech Hokies (14-3, 1-3)
Monday, Jan. 23, 2006 • 7 p.m.
Cassell Coliseum (10,052) • Blacksburg, Va.
TV: RSN (Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports South, Sun Sports).
Radio: most Terrapin Sports Radio Network stations, online at umterps.com, and XM Satellite Radio, Channel 191
Webcast: None.
QUICKLY...
• Crystal Langhorne needs just one more rebound for her 500th-career board.
• The Terps are looking for their first victory over the Hokies since 2000.
• Maryland is 2-0 this season and ACC road games, the first time since 1991-92 the Terps have won their first two road conference games.
• Maryland is 2-0 in overtime games, the first time in the history of the program it has posted two overtime decisions in the same season.
• The Terps are ranked sixth for the fifth-straight week.
• Maryland leads the nation in three-point percentage and rebounding margin.
• Maryland is 2-2 against ranked teams.
• Maryland is 3-1 in televised games.
TERPS CLOSE OUT ROAD TRIP AT VIRGINIA TECH
• The sixth-ranked Terps close out a two-game road trip traveling to No. 18/24 Virginia Tech on Monday, Jan. 23. Maryland will be looking to extend a two-game win streak, while the Hokies have lost their last two games.
• The game will be televised on the ACC's Regional Sports Network (Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports South, Sun Sports) and can be heard on the Terrapin Sports Network with Matt Noble and David Preston calling all the action on the airwaves.
• While the teams have only met seven times in the history of the series, the Terps have lost the last four, including dropping both regular season games last season. Maryland and Virginia Tech will meet just once during the regular season this year.
• Maryland will be taking on its fifth ranked opponent of the season. The Terps are 2-2 so far against teams in the top 25.
TERPS RANKED IN TOP 10
• For the ninth-consecutive week, the Terps are ranked among the nation's top 10 in both major polls, earning a No. 6 rating in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The No. 6 ranking is the highest for the team since being ranked fifth on Jan. 19 1993 in both polls.
• Maryland began the season ranked 14th in the preseason polls, the second-straight year the Terps were ranked in the preseason ratings. They made their first top-10 appearance since 1992-93 when they were rated 10th on Nov. 10, then moved up to sixth over the following three weeks. Maryland has remained in that spot the last five weeks.
• In 1992-93, Maryland began the year at No. 4, spending 11-consecutive weeks among the top 10 in both polls.
LAST TIME OUT
• In another classic battle in the rivalry between Maryland and Virginia, the sixth-ranked Terps topped the Cavaliers in overtime, 84-74, in what was only the fifth win at University Hall for UM and the first since 1992.
• The Terps outscored the Cavs, 15-5, in the overtime, to easily put the game away. Crystal Langhorne had four points and Marissa Coleman had five points in the extra period.
• Coleman led all scorers with a career-high tying 22 points and Langhorne finished with 17. Ashleigh Newman netted 15 and Kristi Toliver, who played 35 minutes, posted her second-career double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.
• Maryland shot 53.7 percent from the floor and was even better from three-point range at 56.3 percent. UVA, who was led by Sharnee Zoll's 17 points, shot 44.8 percent from the floor.
ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH
• The No. 18/24 Hokies come into the contest with a 14-3 record, including 1-3 in the ACC, having lost their last two conference games in a row. Most recently, VT dropped a 77-71 overtime decision as Wake Forest pulled off the upset on Jan. 19. Virginia Tech opened the season winning its first 12 games of the season, but has lost three of its last five.
• The Hokies have three players averaging double figures, led by Kerri Gardin's 12.4 points per game. She is also the league's top rebounder with 9.6 rpg. Last season, Gardin was an Honorable Mention All-ACC honoree. Virginia Tech has a very experienced roster with eight juniors and seniors on the roster, including five seniors.
• Dawn Chriss and Carrie Mason are also averaging double figures, at 11.6 ppg and 11.1 ppg, respectively.
• Beth Dunkenberger is in her second seaon at the Virginia Tech helm. She is a 1988 graduate of Randolph-Macon College.
• SERIES VS. VT: Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 5-2, with the series dating back to 1976. The Terps have lost the last four meetings. Their last victory over the Hokies, however, was a 68-60 overtime decision in the second round of the WNIT in 2000 in Blacksburg, Va.
• LAST TIME VS. VT: In the Hokies' first-ever ACC game, they upset 17th-ranked Maryland, 77-67. Crystal Langhorne had 23 points and Shay Doron added 17, but it was not enough to overcome VT. The Terps went just 17-for-27 from the charity stripe and shot 36.4 percent from the field, while Virginia Tech shot 45.2 percent from the floor.
ROAD WARRIORS
• For the first time since 1991-92, the Terps have won its first two ACC road games, posting wins at Boston College and at Virginia.
• Winning on the road in the ACC is a tough task. Maryland has logged no more than four road conference victories (2000-01) since winning six in 1991-92.
• Maryland posted a .500 record in league road games in 200-01 and went winless in 2001-02, going 0-8. The last time the Terps had a winning record on the road in league play was in 1991-92 when they went 6-2.
EXTRA TIME
• In the 35-year history of the Maryland women's basketball program, the Terps have played in just 20 overtime games, going 13-7 in those games, including the overtime victories at Boston College and at Virginia this season.
• The Terrapins have not had more than two overtime games in a season, including this season, and for the first time in the history of the program, Maryland has won two overtime games in the same season.
LANGHORNE NEARING MILESTONE
• After hauling down a combined 23 rebounds over her last two games (19 vs. Florida State), sophomore Crystal Langhorne is just one rebound from 500 career boards.
• Last season, Langhorne proved herself to be one of the top rebounders in the ACC, leading the league with 10.6 rebounds per game, the third-highest single-season average in school history and the second-best average by an ACC freshman all-time.
• Langhorne needs just 75 rebounds to crack Maryland's top 15 in career rebounds. Last year, she collected 340 boards, the second-highest single-season total in school history.
GETTING BETTER WITH AGE
• Sophomores Jade Perry and Ashleigh Newman learned a lot in their freshman year and have put those lessons to work this year. Both have seen considerable improvement from last year.
• A starter in all but two games this year, Perry took over the starting spot last season for Laura Harper when Harper went down with a season-ending injury in December. While Perry did a good job stepping into the starting role last year, she has been even better this season. Playing with increased confidence, she is averaging 6.5 rpg, compared to last season's 3.8 and is four rebounds from tying last season's total of 121. Her 7.3 ppg game this year are 2.5 ppg higher than last year's scoring average.
• Newman played in every game last season but as a reserve. This season, she has started every game and has positioned herself to be one of the team's top defenders. Newman has also improved her offensive numbers, shooting 42.0 percent from the floor and 40.3 percent from three-point land this year, compared to 35.7 and 35.1 percent last year, respectively. She is two three-pointers from tying her season total from last year (33) and has just as many rebounds as she did all of last season (62). Newman is also averaging 10.4 ppg, 4.3 ppg better than last year.
UP NEXT
• Maryland returns home to host the ACC's Georgia Tech on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. It will be the only regular season meeting between the teams this season.
