Nov. 30, 2004
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By David Ginsburg
AP Sports Writer
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) _ The defense was sharp, the scoring balanced and the rebounding edge overwhelming.
There really wasn't much for coach Brenda Frese to complain about after No. 22 Maryland blew past Loyola, Md. 77-36 Tuesday night.
Laura Harper scored 18 of her 22 points in the first half, and the Terrapins (4-1) pulled away by limiting Loyola to 12 points over the final 20 minutes.
"Obviously, I'm very excited how we played tonight, especially on defense," Frese said.
The Greyhounds (0-3) made only basket in the opening 14 minutes of the second half and missed 45 of 60 field-goal attempts overall.
"Their zone just totally shut us down," Loyola coach Candy Cage said.
Harper, who surpassed her previous career high of 17 by halftime, finished 7-for-10 from the floor and made eight of 11 free throws. She also had eight rebounds.
"Things were just flowing," the freshman said. "Sometimes you can't explain it. My focus this game was on defense."
Crystal Langhorne had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Kalika France scored 13 for the Terrapins, who have won six straight against their crosstown foes. Leading scorer Shay Doron scored only 8 points, but Maryland showed that it doesn't have to depend on just one player for points.
"That's what we're going to have to have," Frese said. "It was nice to see so many players step up."
The Terrapins outrebounded Loyola 29-11 in building a 46-24 halftime lead. Despite committing 15 turnovers, Maryland made 15 of 29 field-goal attempts and went 13-for-16 at the foul line in the first half.
If there was one flaw in the Terrapins' performance, it was that they gave the ball away too many times.
"Twenty-five turnovers is entirely too much," Frese said.
Lauren Troupe and Krystle Harrington scored seven apiece for the Greyhounds, who were outrebounded 50-26.
"We knew that was going to be a tough area for us," said Cage, who believes the young Terrapins will be a tough to beat if they fully mature.
"I think by the end of the season, come March no one's going to want to see them in their bracket," Cage said. "They're going to win a lot of games."
The Terrapins led 24-17 before using a 15-2 run to go up by 20 with 3:55 left in the first half. Harper started the surge by following her own miss with a layup. At that point, all 11 of Maryland's baskets were scored from within the key.
Loyola then bunched its defense inside, and the Terrapins began to connect from long range. Doron hit a 15-footer, and Ashleigh Newman and France sank 3-pointers before France capped the spree with a driving layup.
"Once they started doubling," Frese said, "we were able to get our outside game going."
