Maryland Women Ranked Sixth In Athlon's Preseason Preview

Sept. 23, 2008

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -

With the season not far away, the preseason polls will start to trickle out. One of the earliest to be published is Athlon Sports Basketball Annual, which has the Maryland women's basketball team ranked No. 6 in its preseason ranking. Senior Kristi Toliver was also named to the Preseason All-America squad. The magazine is currently available at newsstands and bookstores now.

The Terrapins were 33-4 last season, advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight for the second time in three years. Maryland has to contend with the losses of five seniors, including two first-round WNBA picks Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper. But the Terps return two All-Americans from last year in Kristi Toliver (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) and classmate Marissa Coleman (Cheltenham, Md./St. Johns College [D.C.]), the only two holdovers from the 2006 National Championship team.

Toliver was an All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and Sports Illustrated, also winning the nation's top point guard honor, the Nancy Lieberman Award. She was second on the team in scoring last year, averaging a career-high 17.1 points per game. She was also fifth in the nation and the ACC's assist leader, handing out 7.4 apg. She broke the league's 30-year old single-season assist mark, dishing out 275 on the year.

Coleman is a three-time All-ACC selection and was an SI All-American last season. One of only three players in ACC history with 1,500 points, 800 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 blocks, she was third on the team in scoring a year ago (16.1 ppg) and returns as the squad's top-returning rebounder (7.4 rpg).

Also returning and looking to take on a bigger role this season is sophomore Marah Strickland (Mt. Airy, Md./Towson Catholic), who was the only rookie on the team to play in every game, starting in 36 of the team's 37 contests. She broke out to average almost 12 points per game in the NCAA Regional Tournament, helping the Terrapins finish among the top eight.

Head coach Brenda Frese, who embarks on her seventh season at the Maryland helm, will look to a young and group of players to fill the voids left by Harper, Langhorne and Jade Perry. Among those are McDonald's All-American Lynetta Kizer (Woodbridge, Va./Potomac) and sophomore Drey Mingo (Atlanta, Ga./Marist), who was a former high school All-American.

The Terps are slated to face seven teams ranked in Athlon's preseason top 25, including ACC foes Duke (#5), North Carolina (#12), Virginia (#18) and Florida State (#20).

Atlon's Preseason All-Americans

First Team

DeWanna Bonner, Auburn; Angel McCoughtry, Louisville; Maya Moore, Connecticut; Courtney Paris, Oklahoma; Kristi Toliver, Maryland

Second Team

Tina Charles, Connecticut; Jantel Lavender, Ohio State; Rashanda McCants, North Carolina; Epiphanny Prince, Rutgers; Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State

Athlon Sports' Preseason Top 25

1. Connecticut

2. California

3. Stanford

4. Texas A&M

5. Duke

6. MARYLAND