Feb. 28, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The University of Maryland women's basketball team has less than 48 hours to regroup from an emotional Senior Night victory on Friday, travel to south Florida and prepare for a Sunday meeting with Miami in which the Terrapins can claim their first Atlantic Coast Conference title in 20 years. Tip-off between the Terps and Hurricanes from BankUnited Center is set for 2 p.m.
No. 5/5 Maryland (24-4, 11-2 ACC) upended Boston College 86-74 at the Comcast Center on Friday and enjoyed a postgame jersey ceremony for two of its all time greats, Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver. The duo can lead the Terrapins to the ACC regular-season crown on Sunday with a victory over Miami (13-15, 2-11). The last time Maryland won an ACC title was when the 1989 Terps won both the regular season and tournament titles.
Maryland is 21-6 in ACC road games over the last four seasons.
The Terps have won eight straight and 11 of their last 12 games, going 4-1 vs ranked teams in that stretch.
Maryland leads the Miami series 7-1 and has won five straight over the Hurricanes.
Coleman (No. 25) and Toliver (No. 20) now join the three other starters from the Terps' 2006 national championship team (Langhorne, Doron, Harper) in the Comcast Center rafters.
Coleman scored a career-high 32 points Friday vs BC, sinking a career-best 12 field goals. The guard/forward is averaging 25.3 ppg over the last six games.
Toliver scored 27 pts vs BC to move into a third place tie on the Maryland scoring list (1,928 pts) with Vicky Bullet (1986-89). She trails only Crystal Langhorne (2,247) and Coleman (2,032).
Freshman Anjale Barrett went 2-for-2 from 3-point range vs BC and is now hitting 70 pct from downtown in ACC play (league-high). She added two assists in 13 minutes off the bench.
The Terps have four players scoring double figures per game, paced by Toliver's 18.3 ppg. Coleman (17.1), freshman center Lynetta Kizer (11.8) and junior forward Demauria Liles (11.1) round out Maryland's top four scorers.
Liles leads the Terps with 8.8 rebounds per game. She is also the team leader in blocks with 39 on the season.
Toliver's 74 3-point field goals this season are second most in Maryland single-season history behind her own mark of 78 set last season.
Maryland is averaging 78.8 ppg while holding opponents to 66.9 ppg. The Terps scoring margin of +11.9 is third best in the ACC.
