On the surface, Sunday?s season finale for the Maryland women?s basketball team at Boston College appears to be a game of no consequence for the No. 5 Terps.
Although Duke clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title with its win over Maryland last weekend, the Terps (25-4, 9-4 ACC) still have a lot to play for against Boston College. The team can secure a first-round bye in next month?s ACC tournament while also solidifying its seeding in the NCAA tournament.
Those factors alone are enough for Maryland coach Brenda Frese to remind her players not to overlook Boston College (13-13, 3-9) even though the Terps trounced the Eagles, 71-39, Feb. 4 in College Park.
“This game is on the road, and it will be senior night for Boston College,” Frese said. “They are going to be playing hard, and we can?t let our guard down because we still have a lot to play for.”
Frese said while the Terps are disappointed about not being able to send the sellout crowd of 17,950 fans home happy last week against Duke, the team has not lingered on the loss too long. With the week in between games, the team had Monday and Tuesday off before returning to practice Wednesday.
“The great thing about this group is that when they?re challenged like they were Sunday against Duke, they always respond,” Frese said. “We?re still in a great position. We?re 25-4 and three of our losses have come against the top two reams in the country [Duke and North Carolina].”
One thing Frese is upset about is that Maryland couldn?t pick up a win in the final home game of the careers of seniors Shay Doron and Aurelie Noirez. The pair were the first two players recruited by Maryland in the Frese era. They played their first college game in front of 623 people when the Terps faced Coppin State.
“To go from 623 fans to 17,950 in four years is amazing,” Frese said. “The way the community has reached out and embraced this team has been great, and I think it has a lot of staying power.”
MADNESS TUNE-UP
» Tip-off for Sunday?s game is 3 p.m. in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
» Maryland sophomore guard Kristi Toliver is one of 11 finalists for the eighth-annual Nancy Lieberman Award, presented to the top Division I point guard in the country.
» Boston College is coming off a 56-42 win last Sunday against Wake Forest. Freshman Mikel Picco had a career-high 25 points in the win.
