1996-97 Review & Highlights
The Maryland Terrapins made believers of many last season with an 18-10 mark, a third-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Picked to finish sixth in the preseason conference poll, the Terps finished third with a 9-7 record for its best finish since 1993. The Terps also returned to post-season action with an at-large bid in the Mideast Region.The spirit, fight and competitiveness of the 1997 team was evident in the season opener against the 15th-ranked Penn State Lady Lions. The Terps built a 10-point halftime advantage and held it late into the game, but Penn State converted two free throws with 11 seconds remaining for the 67-65 victory. Stephanie Cross led the Terps with 14 points and seven rebounds while Tiffany Brown, in her college debut, knocked down four three-pointers for all 12 of her points.
Maryland quickly put the Penn State loss to bed and went on to win nine consecutive games. Included in the victories were two tournament championships; the Rutgers Brother Holiday Tournament in Piscataway, N.J., and the Dial Classic at College Park. Cross was the MVP at the Brother Tournament and Kelley Gibson was selected to the all-tournament team. Cross averaged 15 points and four rebounds while Gibson averaged 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. In the Dial Soap Classic, Sonia Chase was selected MVP after she averaged 14 points and 7.5 rebounds. Brown scored 23 points in the two games and was named to the all-tournament team.
Also in the streak was a 72-53 win over then-20th ranked Clemson at Cole Field House. Kalisa Davis led the Terps with 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Tigers. Maryland's nine game win streak came to an end at the beginning of January. The Terps dropped games to conference foes Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia. But again the Terps rose to the occasion and won their next six games, including wins over ranked Duke and NC State in a span of six days.
Maryland defeated three ranked teams, including a season sweep of Clemson. The Terps defeated No. 14 Duke, 68-64, No. 15 NC State 54-51, and No. 20 Clemson, 72-53 at Cole Field House and 70-64 at Littlejohn Coliseum. The win over 21st-ranked Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum closed the season and gave the Terps a third-place finish in the conference, their best since 1993's second-place record of 11-5.
The Terps made their 15th appearance in the National Tournament, gaining an at-large berth in the Mideast Region where they faced the Purdue Boilermakers in Norfolk, Va. Cross recorded her fourth double-double performance of the season, netting 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in Maryland's 74-48 loss to Purdue.
- Sonia Chase was named to the Honorable Mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference team and Tiffany Brown was selected to the All-Freshman team. Chase led the Terps in steals (59), assists (105), and was second in rebounds, averaging 6.4 boards per game. Chase's 10.5 points per game was a career high. Brown averaged 8.6 points per game and was second on the team with 68 assists. Brown was the fourth consecutive Terrapin freshman selected to the All-Freshman team in the last four seasons.
- Freshman Tiffany Brown broke the season mark for made and attempted three-point shots, hitting 48 of 134 for a shooting mark of 36 percent. Brown is second on the all-time list in both categories trailing only Carla Holmes. Brown trails Holmes' career 75 made three-point shots in 199 attempts.
- Stephanie Cross led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds, while Kalisa Davis was the team's leading shooter, hitting 59 percent of her field goals. Cross has led the Terps in scoring for three consecutive seasons, averaging 11.5 points as a freshman, 13.2 as a sophomore and 11.9 last season. Cross has scored 997 points in her career and fell three points shy last season of becoming the seventh Terp in school history to reach the 1,000 point plateau as a junior. Davis finished the season on fire, hitting 34-of-44 shots for a 77 percent shooting mark
- The Maryland defense was the stingiest in the nation for the month of January. The Terps ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, holding the opposition to 55.6 points per game. The Terps finished the season ranked ninth in the nation and No.1 in the ACC in scoring defense.
