March 1, 2009
Box Score
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The fifth-ranked University of Maryland women's basketball team won its first Atlantic Coast Conference title in 20 years on Sunday with its 89-64 victory over Miami in the regular-season finale at UnitedBank Center. The Terrapins, winners of nine straight, locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
"We did it together," Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. "Each and every game building momentum to get to this moment. It's a good feeling as a coaching staff when your team is in sync and on board with your goals."
The Terps had not won an ACC crown since claiming both the regular season and tournament championships in 1989.
Maryland (25-4, 12-2 ACC) never trailed and held as much as a 32-point lead in a game that was never in question after the opening tip. Eight out of nine Terrapins on the roster scored at least six points, paced by 17-point performances by senior Marissa Coleman and sophomore Marah Strickland. Coleman added a career-high 16 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.
The Terps dominated the boards, scoring a 52-35 rebounding advantage. Maryland grabbed 21 offensive rebounds which it converted into 24 second-chance points.
Terrapin freshman center Lynetta Kizer tied for the team's double-double lead with her eighth of the season, recording 10 points and 10 rebounds (five offensive). In all, five Terps reached double-digits in points. Point guard Kristi Toliver netted 11 points with six assists and four rebounds.
Miami (13-16, 2-12) was led by Riquna Williams' 17 points. Freshman Shenise Johnson, the Hurricanes' leading scorer with 13.1 points per contest, was limited to just five points thanks in part to the defensive prowess of Strickland who held her to 1-of-7 shooting.
The Terps hoped to establish their freshman center early, looking often to get the ball to Kizer in the post. She struggled from the floor, hitting just 1-of-11 in the opening 20 minutes, but a balanced scoring attack carried the Terps throughout the first half as Maryland entered intermission 48-32.
Coleman went 6-for-7 in the first half and led all scorers with 12 points. She nearly posted a double-double in the first stanza, pulling down nine rebounds. Toliver netted nine first-half points along with eight apiece for Strickland and Anjale Barrett and seven for Demauria Liles. Kizer scored four first-half points with seven rebounds.
Barrett scored 10 points in the contest, the third ACC game of her freshman season in which she scored at least 10. She added four assists, helping Maryland to 20 assists on 32 field goals. Reserve guard Kim Rodgers netted nine points on 2-of-4 shooting (4-4 FT) while forward Drey Mingo contributed six points.
The ACC regular-season title was an important achievement for the team, according to Toliver. "It's nice to finally win an ACC title," the senior said. "We've achieved so much as a program but had not yet won (an ACC championship). It feels great to have gotten through the ACC regular season on top."
The Terps earned a first-round bye in the upcoming ACC Tournament and will open play in the quarterfinals on Friday at 3 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C. against the winner of the No. 8 versus No. 9 seed winner.
NOTES
Coleman moved into 15th place in ACC history in scoring, surpassing NC State's Chasity Melvin (1995-98), and now standing with 2,049 career points. She also jumped into 13th place in rebounding with 1,060 career rebounds, moving past NC State's Trudi Lacey (1978-81).
Strickland tied her career-high with five 3-pointers. Her third trey of the afternoon gave her 100 career 3-pointers to become just the eighth Terp to reach that mark. 