Sitting between Lynetta Kizer and Tianna Hawkins at a small table inside UMBC’s RAC Arena late Saturday night, Brenda Frese seemed in high spirits as she fielded questions from a throng of reporters. And for good reason.
Not only had the Terrapins women’s basketball coach watched her team fend off a hard-charging Retrievers team, 70-59, in its first road contest of the season, she’d also seen her star center Kizer return from a suspension that kept her from the Terps’ first three games.
The senior didn’t start Saturday for the Terps, but she did figure prominently into the action. Though she saw only five minutes in the first half, Kizer was on the court for nearly three-quarters of the second half, totaling 12 points and three rebounds in relatively limited action.
But when asked when, or whether, the senior would be moved back into the starting lineup, Frese didn’t have an exact answer.
“I don’t think there is a plan,” Frese said after the game. “With where our team is right now, every game is going to be different and every game you have to see how it unfolds.”
Kizer’s role could become clearer tonight, when the No. 8 Terps (4-0) return to Comcast Center for a matchup with Saint Joseph’s (2-2). And even though she’s been one of the team’s most prolific scorers over the past three years, her move back into a starting spot isn’t quite a certainty given the Terps’ already impressive frontcourt production.
Alicia DeVaughn, who has started in place of Kizer in the team’s first four games, has been solid if unspectacular in that span, averaging nearly seven points and six rebounds per game while shooting better than 45 percent from the field. Hawkins has been even more impressive in Kizer’s stead, taking on the role of the team’s primary frontcourt presence with more than 11 points and 10 rebounds a game.
“Our focus is on crashing the boards to make sure we get the rebounds and finish plays,” Hawkins said.
Even though she entered the game a bit rusty, Kizer wasted no time helping her teammates make an impact down low, especially with Hawkins dealing with foul trouble in the second half. Overall, the three helped the Terps total 34 points in the paint against the Retrievers.
“We really want to use our size,” Kizer said. “Coach would tell us to just keep pounding the ball inside and it was working to our advantage.”
Whether Kizer will reclaim her spot as the team’s anchor in the paint against the Hawks or continue to provide minutes remains to be seen. But no matter what role she plays, her mere availability adds depth to an already vaunted Terps frontcourt.
“I really liked how Lynetta played,” Frese said. “Obviously, Lynetta is a big piece to this team.”
vitale@umdbk.com
