July 10, 2012

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - On Feb. 9, 2006, the world of women's college basketball got a quick lesson it wouldn't forget, as No. 6 Maryland beat No. 1 undefeated UNC 98-95 in overtime. In fact, the first sentence of the Associated Press story on the game read, "Maybe the Atlantic Coast Conference is more than just a two-team race after all," referring to the Duke and North Carolina domination of the league for years.

The Terrapins trailed by 14 with 12 minutes to play and sophomore Ashleigh Newman hit a buzzer-beating three to force the extra period. As Maryland beat the top team in the nation on its home court, all eyes in the women's basketball community quickly learned the names of the young Terps.

Fourth-year head coach Brenda Frese knew her Terrapins would make themselves known even before tip-off. As she walked into the locker room for her pregame speech, the whiteboard read, "The stars come out tonight." Frese reached in her pocket and pulled out a pack of Starburst candy.

In her 2006 book, Overtime is Our Time, she said, "Tonight is our night and sitting in this locker room are a bunch of stars. There are a lot of different flavors here and we are going to burst with a lot of energy, but what you don't realize is, your life is going to change tonight. Not only are you going to win this game, you are going to burst onto the national scene. Let's go get it done." She handed a Starburst to each player as she left the locker room to lighten the mood.

"What a moment for our program. This was a weekend in which we were on the road playing #1 UNC and the next game was a road test at #2 Duke," head coach Brenda Frese said. "North Carolina had a 30-game home winning streak in progress. Not many people would've put Ws next to those games for us. Those two might be the two most talented teams I've ever coached against."

"For us, we were ranked sixth in the country at the time, which was huge considering the rebuilding process we had undertaken. Normally, that would put you at the top of your conference, but the ACC was so loaded we were only third. To take down one of the top two, at their place, was a giant step forward for our program."

Newman hit a long desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime while Marissa Coleman scored five straight points afterward to help Maryland beat No. 1 North Carolina 98-95, ending the Tar Heels' 30-game home winning streak. Crystal Langhorne scored 25 points to lead the Terrapins, who won at UNC for the first time in a decade. The Terps never trailed in overtime.

"The game wasn't on TV, so not everybody saw Ashleigh Newman's improbable three-pointer that sent the game to overtime," Frese said. "Just seeing the youthful exuberance in our team at that moment was incredible. We were a very young and talented team. Most importantly, our team was never afraid. And for Ashleigh, it was the play of a lifetime. Our fans will always remember her hitting that shot that sent the game to overtime. And as they also know, this was a season in which overtime was our time, as we went 6-0 in overtime games."