Jan. 2, 2012
LIKE! Maryland Athletics on Facebook
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Maryland used balanced scoring and a sizable rebounding edge to stay unbeaten and hand Florida State its worst home loss in nearly five years.
Laurin Mincy scored 23 points, Alyssa Thomas added 21 points and 10 rebounds and Tianna Hawkins had 20 points and 13 rebounds as No. 5 Maryland routed Florida State 91-70 on Monday night. Hawkins was 7 of 7 from the floor in the first half and had nine rebounds for Maryland (14-0, 1-0 ACC), which won the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams. Anjale Barrett notched 12 points.
"I liked the toughness we played with," Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. "This obviously was a very important game for us to set the tone early for the conference schedule. To be able to come in and be able to secure our first road (ACC) win is tremendous."
Maryland handed Florida State its worst home loss since No. 2 North Carolina defeated Florida State 80-59 on Feb. 12, 2007.
Alexa Deluzio tied a career high with 23 points, Cierra Bravard had 14 points and Chasity Clayton had 13 points for Florida State (8-7, 0-1). The Seminoles had 20 turnovers, including 10 in the game's first 11 minutes.
The Terrapins outhustled the Seminoles, winning the rebounding edge 53-40.
"They completely outmuscled us with 25 offensive boards," Florida State head coach Sue Semrau said. "They pushed the ball in transition and we were just not up for the challenge tonight."
Maryland shook off a sluggish start to remain unbeaten. The Terrapins are enjoying their best start since opening 18-0 in 2006-07.
Florida State trailed 15-7 early in the game but a pair of 3-pointers by Deluzio were part of a 10-0 run that put the Seminoles in front 17-15 with 12:01 left in the first half. Maryland trailed 19-18 but went on a 10-0 run, capped by Mincy's 3-pointer with 9:01 left in the first half, to pull away.
Maryland led 48-36 at halftime and had no trouble extending that lead. The Terrapins led by as many as 22 points after Anjale Barrett's layup with 14:30 left in the game.
The Terrapins, who lead the country in field goal percentage, shot 44.6 percent from the floor in the game. The Seminoles shot 40.3 percent.
Defensively, the Terrapins had 10 steals as a team, including three each from Alicia DeVaughn and Hawkins. DeVaughn also had three blocks on the night.
The Terrapins will return home on Friday for an 8:30 p.m. game vs. Georgia Tech (10-3). The Terps will be teaming with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Team Tyler Foundation at that game for Leukemia Awareness Night.
The Terrapins invite survivors and their families to come to the game for free. To register for free tickets, please email TerpSports@umd.edu with your full name, the name of the survivor, and the number of tickets you would like to request. Tickets will be placed at will-call under the survivor's name for pick up on the day of the game. For more information on Leukemia Awareness Night, log on to /ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=29700&ATCLID=208139216.
The Terps-Georgia Tech game will be shown on RSN, which includes Fox Sports South, Fox Sports Florida/Sun Sports, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and New England Sports Network (NESN). Please check your local listings for more information.
Friday's game will also be broadcast live on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network and can be heard on WJZ 1300 AM, ESPN 980 AM, WWXT 92.7 FM, WWXX 94.3 FM.
Maryland is ranked No. 5 in the latest Associated Press rankings and the ESPN/USA Today Division I Top 25 Coaches' poll.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-Terps- 