Last year, it was “The Shot.” This year, it was “The Benching.”
Both moments came at critical times of the season for the Maryland women?s basketball team and both centered on guard Kristi Toliver.
Toliver rose to national prominence last year when she nailed a game-tying three-pointer near the end of regulation in Maryland?s eventual win in the national title game against Duke. This year, Toliver made headlines of a different sort when coach Brenda Frese replaced her in the starting lineup in favor of Sa?de Wiley-Gatewood. Frese made the decision because she felt like Toliver needed to be relieved of the internal pressure placed upon her.
In the end, the entire Maryland roster succumbed to the pressures that come with being a defending national champion. The Terps? 89-78 loss to Mississippi in the second round of the NCAA tournament matched the earliest departure of a defending champ. The heavy burden was evident in the Terps? inability to handle the ball. They committed 29 turnovers against the Rebels.
“I saw our confidence level diminish,” Frese said. “That?s something that came with the pressure of expectations.”
Frese refuses to second-guess her decision to bench Toliver, who had started 49 straight games, noting that she scored 13 points and had nine assists in the first round against Harvard before scoring 24 points, but alsocommitting 10 turnovers, against Mississippi.
“The decision was done for nothing more or less than taking pressure off of Kristi,” said Frese, who noted that Toliver didn?t play any less than when she started. “It?s just what I felt we needed at point guard.”
Now, for the first time in eight seasons as a head coach, Frese must regroup and deal with a season that fell well short of her overall goals. Never one to lose perspective, though, she realizes that Maryland can use this loss as motivation for next year, much like Duke used its loss in the national final going into this season.
Still, Frese knows reclaiming Maryland?s spot atop the world of women?s basketball won?t be easy. She points to the unusual amount of parity in the women?s tournament this year, including early exits by teams like Ohio State and Middle Tennessee State as proof.
But with only one player from this year?s rotation (Shay Doron) not returning and a talented group of incoming freshmen (including Towson Catholic guard Marah Strickland) blending with the team?s current core, there?s no reason the Terps can?t get back to the Final Four.
“No loss sits well with a team, especially one that ends your season,” Frese said. “No one on the team liked how this season ended, and if we can?t use that as motivation to get back into the gym and into the weight room, I don?t know what will.”
Frese said while she likes those odds, figuring out who is going to take command of this talented roster remains a mystery. Doron?s leadership cannot easily be replaced.
“I can?t answer who will be the leader of this team next year,” Frese said. “Right now, the closest people to take over that role are [forwards] Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper. But it?s difficult to lead from the low post. We?re just going to see how it develops and unfolds in the offseason and see who?s going to fill that void.”
Ron Snyder is a staff writer with The Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected].
