Maryland?s women?s basketball team has shown this season why it is the defending national champion and the top-ranked team in the country. The Terps have averaged more than 85 points a game while outscoring their opponents by nearly 31 points a contest.
But coach Brenda Frese knows winning games won?t come that easily once the Terps begin their Atlantic Coast Conference schedule next month. Maryland (12-0) is off now until it plays Dec. 21 at Loyola.
Frese said it is important that Maryland gets tested at least a few times over the course of the season to see how the players react under pressure. That happened in the first game of the season when Maryland held off a tough Middle Tennessee State team on the road, 80-76. And it happened again Sunday at Temple when the Owls went on an 18-1 run to take a 62-58 lead, only to watch Maryland reel off 13 straight points en route to a 77-66 win.
“I am proud of the way the team has responded when getting the other team?s best shot,” Frese said. “They have shown poise to execute on offense and make a stop on defense when they?ve had to this year.”
The Temple win capped a stretch for Maryland when it played five games in 12 days, including three away from College Park. The stretch included a 77-33 rout at Northern Iowa, which also represented a homecoming for Frese, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Maryland forward Crystal Langhorne said the break between games allows the team time to focus on practice while also spending some added time watching film with hopes of correcting any mistakes, which have not cost Maryland to this point.
Langhorne, who is averaging a team-high 14.9 points, added that Sunday?s win at Temple provided the team with added confidence. Last year?s team had that confidence, too, going 6-0 in overtime games last year.
“It helps to know that you can come back when you get challenged like we did against Temple,” Langhorne said. “A game like that really prepares you for playing in the ACC.”
MARYLAND NOTES
» The Terps? 12-0 start is the program?s best since a 16-game streak to open the 1982-83 season.
» All five Maryland starters are averaging at least 10 points a game this season.
» A big reason for Maryland?s success this year is because of its ability to rebound. The Terps are out-rebounding the opposition, 46.2-27.9, a game this season.
