Nov. 5, 2012

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The fifth-ranked Maryland women's basketball team used its dominant inside presence and a strong second half surge to top Goldey-Beacom College, 84-46, Monday in an exhibition match at Comcast Center.

Senior forward Hawkins, who was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team, led the Terrapins with 20 points and 15 boards, including 12 of each in the first half. Junior center Alicia DeVaughn added 17 points and freshman forward Tierney Pfirman scored 13.

"I thought they were sensational," head coach Brenda Frese said of her team's post players. "Tianna Hawkins set the tone early for us in the first half and we were able to collectively be active in the second half. We need that from Tianna, Alicia DeVaughn, Tierney Pfirman and Alyssa Thomas We need to establish that dominance on the glass. It's something we want to continue this season."

The Terps dominated the paint, outrebounding the Lighting 54-28 and beating Goldey-Beacom by 20 points inside.

"I thought that some parts looked really good tonight, especially in the second half when we were able to get into a flow and get comfortable," said Frese. "I thought the first half looked like an exhibition game. I was encouraged. We were able to play a lot of players a lot of minutes and in different combinations and that will definitely get us prepared for our game on Friday."

The Lightning scored first with a layup made 25 seconds in, but the Terrapins pounced early for a 17-2 run before the first official timeout. They led 19-6 with 14:13 to play, thanks to six points from Alicia DeVaughn and seven boards from Hawkins.

Coming out of the timeout, the Lighting used a couple of threes to cut it to 19-15 and head coach Brenda Frese called a timeout.

Goldey-Beacom kept it within single digits throughout the first half. With 42 seconds left in the first, Hawkins made a jumper from the elbow to make it 38-27 at half.

Hawkins picked up where she left off coming out of the break. She hit a jumper in the first minute to spark a 20-4 Terps run over the next seven minutes. The Terrapins went up by 20 for good with a Hawkins layup to make it 54-33 with 11 minutes to play.

Junior Laurin Mincy added nine points off three three-pointers and six assists.

The Terrapins open the 2012-13 season officially at 7 p.m. Friday vs. Mount St. Mary's in College Park. The Terps will receive their championship rings for the 2012 ACC title prior to Friday's contest.

For tickets to Friday's opener, log on to UMTerps.com. GameTracker live stats will be available and the game will be shown live online on TerpsTV Premium.

Maryland is ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press preseason poll, as well as in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Division I Coaches' poll. The Terps have started the season ranked in each of the last eight years.

The Terrapins, who return four of five starters from last year's ACC Championship squad, ended the 2011-12 season ranked No. 5 in the AP poll. The Terps went 31-5 last year and went to the NCAA Elite Eight.