Nov. 29, 2002
Final Stats
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland women's basketball team opened the 2002 Terrapin Classic to the Comcast Center in winning fashion as it rolled to a 104-66 victory over Rider to remain perfect on the season (3-0). The win improves Maryland's all-time mark to 7-0 in tournament. The point total is the highest output for a Maryland team since Nov. 30, 1991.
In the early going, the two teams went back and forth trading baskets through the first seven minutes of action. Holding a 23-18 lead, the Terrapins reeled-off a 16-0 run that was capped off with a lay-up by Angel Ross (Midlothian, Va.) to give Maryland a commanding 36-20 lead. Rider answered to cut the Maryland lead to 10 points with just under three minutes remaining in the first half of play when Leanne Moore buried a jumper to make it 44-34.
Maryland's Chrissy Fisher (Rumson, N.J.) closed out the scoring in the first half of action when she drained a three-pointer to give the Terps a 55-38 lead at the break. Redshirt junior Vicki Brick (Timonium, Md.) paced the Terrapins through the first twenty minutes of play with 12 points while Ross chipped in with 11. Becky Hower led the Broncs in the first half of action with 14 points.
The Terrapins picked up where they left off in the first half of play when they extended their lead to 20 points four minutes into the second half on a lay-in by senior Rennieka Razor (New York, N.Y.) to give the Terps a 65-45 lead. The Terrapins pushed their lead to 30 with 8:40 remaining in the contest when Fisher found Razor for a short jumper to give Maryland an 86-55 advantage. Razor was one of four Terps to hit for double digits as she finished the game with 18 points and five rebounds.
With the game well under control, Maryland continued to give the Broncs problems offensively, forcing a total of 21 turnovers on the defensive end of the floor. With 1:30 remaining in the contest, Fisher found Brick, who led Maryland with a game-high 20 points, for an uncontested lay-up to put the Terps over the century mark, 100-63. The bucket marked the first time that the Terps have broke the 100-point plateau since Dec. 28, 1993, when they knocked off UMES 102-31. Freshman Vanessa Ruffin (Hagerstown, Md.) closed out the scoring in the contest with a lay-in to seal the 104-66 victory for the Terps.
"It was great to see the intensity we put together all 40 minutes of the game," said head coach Brenda Frese. "Together, the team worked great. Every single player can came off the bench and worked hard together for this win."
The Terrapins will look to remain perfect tomorrow, Nov. 30th, when they take on the winner of UMES and Rhode Island in the championship game of the Terrapin Classic. Maryland will look to claim the tourney crown for the fourth time in as many tries. Action is set to tip-off at 11:00 a.m. Admission to all fans will be free of charge, but there will be a charge for parking around the Comcast Center because of the football game vs. Wake Forest. Please plan to arrive early because of the game day traffic.
