The goal for the Terrapin women’s basketball team this weekend is simple: win the ACC tournament.
Anything less would be a disappointment.
The second-seeded Terps (29-2, 13-1 ACC) begin tournament play tonight in the quarterfinals against seventh-seeded Boston College in Greensboro, N.C., looking for their first tournament championship since 1989.
For all the Terps have accomplished the past few seasons, an ACC championship has been elusive.
“To have an ACC title would be tremendous,” coach Brenda Frese said. “With this team and how hard they’ve been working, it would be special to be able to hang another banner up in the rafters.”
Top-seeded North Carolina (27-2, 14-0) has won the last three tournaments, and the Tar Heels have eliminated the Terps the past two seasons.
The No. 5-ranked Terps and the No. 2-ranked Tar Heels have been the two best teams in the conference all season – with the Tar Heels beating the Terps in double overtime in the teams’ only meeting Jan. 26.
While two wins still stand in the way of both teams, a rematch Sunday between the top two seeds would be epic.
“Going through three ACC championships, all going to Carolina, it’s definitely something we’re thinking about in the back of our minds,” senior forward Laura Harper said. “But we know the road’s not easy, and we gotta take it one game at a time.”
Several Terps said they are confident heading into the weekend but know they can’t take any team in the conference lightly.
While their conference record other than the game against the Tar Heels is unblemished, the Terps have played some close games against some of the league’s lower-echelon teams and have been criticized at times for playing down to the level of their competition.
The last time the Terps played the Hokies, on Feb. 4, the Terps trailed by 21 points in the first half before coming back to win in overtime.
“We’ve had some that maybe shouldn’t have been so close,” junior guard Kristi Toliver said. “In tournament time, everyone plays their hardest, plays their best, so we recognize that, and we know that we have to come out and take what we’ve learned in these 31 games.”
If the Terps win tonight, they will play either third-seeded Duke or sixth-seeded Florida State in the semifinals Saturday afternoon.
The championship game is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1.
“It’s no time to be tired,” Toliver said.
This weekend will be a good opportunity for the Terps to firmly establish themselves as one of the top teams in the nation heading into the NCAA tournament.
While the Terps have only lost twice this season, to teams currently ranked ahead of them in the AP Top 25, they have seemingly been relegated to a second tier among members of the national media.
Connecticut and Tennessee are penciled in as No. 1 seeds, and the Tar Heels and No. 4 Rutgers tend to get more consideration for the other two spots.
“We like to play with a chip on our shoulder,” Toliver said. “If people don’t want to give us their respect, that’s OK; we’re going to come out and play just as hard.”
An ACC tournament championship would virtually assure the Terps of a top seed in the big dance, while anything less might leave them as a No. 2.
But while a top seed would be nice, Frese said it’s not necessarily the most important thing.
The Terps were a No. 2 seed when they won the national championship in 2006, and were a No. 2 seed last year when they got upset in the second round.
“For us, it’s a number in front of your name,” Frese said. “More importantly is just your bracket, who’s in it and how you match up.”
For now, the Terps are just looking to take care of business in Greensboro.
The rest will fall into place.
“We want to go out and compete and hopefully bring one home,” Harper said. “We’re just getting ready for game one.”
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