Without Kristi Toliver’s game-tying shot last year in the NCAA championship, the Terrapin women’s basketball team never would have captured its first title. Now, with a year of tournament experience behind her, the sophomore point guard is expected to do even more.
Toliver is no longer an unassuming freshman trying to do her best while running the Terps’ offense; coach Brenda Frese expects her to be the team’s leader.
“I definitely think we feed off her energy,” Frese said. “The biggest thing, from her end, is being able to learn in terms of leadership that even when her shot is not falling, there are so many things she can do for this team. She’s got to be able to keep her energy at an all-time high.”
Toliver has elevated her game during her sophomore season, but she has struggled to stay in a positive mind-set and to keep her team on an even keel emotionally. She needs to regain the blank-faced confidence she had when taking “the shot” last year.
She did not hesitate taking the crucial shot with time winding down despite being just 5-of-16 from the field at that point.
“I’m just trying to improve on the floor game, keeping everybody else up when things are going bad,” Toliver said. “Being consistently upbeat and happy to be playing and being in the tournament, because there are a ton of teams who wish they could be in a position we’re in.”
Toliver should have no reserves about her game at this point. On a national level, she is one of the most notable players in women’s basketball. Opposing teams gameplan for her, and in post-game press conferences, coaches often mention how tough it is to defend a shooter of Toliver’s caliber.
During the tournament selection show Monday night, ESPN analyst Stacey Dales noted Toliver as the reason why the Terps are the most dangerous team in the tourney.
“I love Kristi Toliver,” Dales said.
Toliver’s victory over Dales in a game of HORSE during last season’s final four may have contributed to that.
And while the sophomore guard has gotten the job done in just about every setting, Frese still wants more vocal leadership from Toliver. Last year, Toliver was subdued throughout the regular season and was much more emotional during the tournament. In the Terps’ national semifinal win over North Carolina, Toliver was jumping up and down, giving fist pumps and constantly clapping.
But that hasn’t completely carried over into this season.
“Kristi is a thinker,” Frese said. “She thinks the game and knows what has to be done. She has to get out of her comfort zone and verbalize it to her teammates.”
Frese also thinks Toliver may just need to relax at times.
“She does have such a high basketball IQ – when you’re that smart, you overthink it and overanalyze it,” Frese said. “Kristi is at her best when she freely just lets the game come to her and read and react on the situation.”
Toliver will look to be more consistent than she was during last year’s tournament. She had a huge outing, scoring 28 points against Utah in the elite eight, before coughing up the ball 12 times in the final four against North Carolina.
“Consistency is something I’ve done a lot better job with this year,” Toliver said. “Continuing to do that in the tournament will be a big thing for us.”
Toliver has plenty of support from the other guards to pick up the slack if she momentarily struggles. The addition of Sa’de Wiley-Gatewood stabilizes the Terps’ ball-handling and allows Toliver to be more of a shooter. Senior Shay Doron provides an experienced presence for Toliver to fall back on when things aren’t going as planned.
“We know each other, know everything about each other,” Doron said. “We’ve played with each other for two years now. That kind of experience, you can’t beat that.”
Toliver enjoys the familiarity she has with her teammates and hopes to experience a familiar feeling at the end of this year’s tournament. And if there’s one thing that she will vocalize, it’s what will happen if she’s put in the same situation, down by three with the clock expiring again.
“Of course I want the ball in my hands,” Toliver said. “But this team has a ton of shooting threats, so everyone’s capable of taking a big shot in a big game.”
Contact reporter Mark Selig at mseligdbk@gmail.com.
