March 29, 2009
Game Notes 
| Pre-Elite Eight Press Conference Quotes | Notes from Sweet 16 Win Vs. Vanderbilt
NCAA Tournament Interactive Bracket
RALEIGH, N.C. - Maryland, following its rousing come-from-behind victory over Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16, is looking for its fourth NCAA Women's Final Four berth in school history when it takes on Louisville on Monday night at the RBC Center in the Raleigh Regional Final. Tip-off between the top-seeded Terrapins and the No. 3 seed Cardinals is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN.
No. 3 nationally-ranked Maryland (31-4) has won 15 straight games heading into its Elite Eight matchup with seventh-ranked Louisville out of the Big East Conference. The Cardinals (32-4) are coming off a 56-39 win over Baylor on Saturday in the regional semifinals. The teams have never before met prior to Monday's showdown.
Maryland's 15-game win streak has been bookended by perhaps two of the most thrilling games in Terrapin history. The streak commenced with senior Kristi Toliver's 3-pointer at the buzzer for a one-point road win at conference rival Florida State on Feb. 2 up through Saturday's comeback from an 18-point deficit in the Sweet 16 versus Vanderbilt.
Maryland never led in the game until Toliver slipped a pass through the lane to junior forward Demauria Liles for a lay-in at 2:07 of the second half. The Terps trailed by 18 points in the first half but cut their deficit to three points at intermission before again falling behind by double-digits with seven minutes remaining.
The Terps methodically climbed back into the game against the Commodores and rode on the back of senior guard/forward Marissa Coleman to victory. The Cheltenham, Md., native scored a school-record 42 points and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds to launch Maryland into the Elite Eight.
Her point total stands as the highest in Sweet 16 history and the fifth-highest scoring output in NCAA Tournament history.
Redshirt freshman guard Kim Rodgers nearly doubled her entire rebounding total from the regular season, seizing a career-high 12 rebounds off the bench. Toliver added 17 points while freshman center Lynetta Kizer and Liles netted six points apiece. Liles contributed nine rebounds as the Terps outrebounded the Commodores, 48-33.
Toliver (18.6 points per game) and Coleman (18.1) are two of four Terrapins that average double-digit points per game. The Terps own a +12.0 scoring margin and outrebound their opponents by 7.1 boards per contest.
Head coach Brenda Frese, 15-4 in six NCAA appearances at Maryland, will see a familiar face on the opposing bench on Monday as former Terrapin assistant Jeff Walz leads Louisville into its first Elite Eight appearance in school history. Walz, Frese's assistant for one year at Minnesota before joining her staff at Maryland from 2002-06, owns a 58-14 career mark in two seasons at U of L.
Louisville is led by All-American forward Angel McCoughtry's 23.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. The Baltimore native is the Cardinals' all-time leading scorer and rebounder and is the nation's leader in steals (4.2/game).
The Cardinals score 71.5 points per game and allow opponents just 56.9 points per contest (+14.6 scoring margin). They dropped a 75-36 decision to top-ranked Connecticut in the Big East Championship Game, their lone loss in their last 12 outings.
The winner of Monday's contest will face the winner of the Oklahoma City Regional (Purdue vs. Rutgers; Oklahoma vs. Pittsburgh) in the national semifinals in St. Louis on April 5.
