It’s only November, but the Terrapin women’s basketball team is already playing like it’s March.

In another convincing win over a national power, the No. 3 Terps withstood every challenge No. 4 LSU could throw at them yesterday and beat the Tigers 75-62 in the championship game of the Preseason WNIT.

“Just a special win for us,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “I’m just so proud of the champions we have in this locker room.”

The win was the Terps’ second of the season against a top-10 team, and much like in their 76-66 win Nov. 11 against then-No. 6 Oklahoma, the Terps were in control virtually from start to finish.

The Terps outshot, outrebounded and outplayed a veteran Lady Tigers team that has been to four consecutive final fours. The outcome was never really in doubt.

“This team here is capable of winning a national championship if they keep playing like this,” Lady Tigers’ coach Van Chancellor said.

Junior guard Kristi Toliver led the Terps with 23 points, two days after her 25-point performance Friday in the Terps’ 75-59 semifinal win against No. 23 Notre Dame.

Toliver shot 9-for-18 from the field yesterday and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after the game.

“I thought I was at a WNBA game the way she kept pulling up and making shots,” said Chancellor, the former coach of the Houston Comets. “I was really impressed with her.”

After Chancellor asked what year Toliver is in and was told she is a junior, he said, “Oh lord. We’re not scheduling them next year.”

Senior forward Jade Perry also continued to play extremely well for the Terps, starting in place of All-American senior forward Crystal Langhorne, who missed her fourth out of five games with a sprained ankle.

Perry finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Six of her points came late in the first half when senior forward Laura Harper was on the bench after she picked up her second foul with 8:25 remaining before halftime.

“I don’t really see Jade as filling in on anything,” Frese said. “She’s the strongest post player in the country.”

Harper came back to score 14 of her 16 points in the second half.

Much like Perry did in the first half, Harper went right after Lady Tigers’ All-American senior center Sylvia Fowles in the low post.

“I just wanted to bring that energy because Jade held it down pretty much for 20 minutes without a sub in the first half,” Harper said. “I wanted to give her a little boost because she was holding it down for the post players.”

The Terps led by as much as 10 in the first half, but the Lady Tigers cut the lead to 34-32 at halftime.

After the Lady Tigers went ahead 40-38 on a jumper by Fowles with 17:19 remaining, the Terps went on a 16-1 run, and the Lady Tigers never threatened again after that.

Chancellor was asked after the game if the Terps’ homecourt advantage perhaps played a role in his team’s loss.

“If there would have been a wind draft come into the gym, and the kids weren’t making all of those outside shots, it could have been a difference,” Chancellor said. “But if they were making outside shots playing in Aruba, we were gonna be in trouble.”

The Terps shot 48.2 percent from the floor, while the Lady Tigers shot 33.3 percent.

Fowles finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Lady Tigers, and senior guard Quianna Chaney scored 23 points.

Toliver, Perry, Fowles and Chaney were named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Notre Dame’s Charel Allen and Michigan State’s Allyssa DeHaan.

The Terps’ three wins against ranked opponents already gives them more of those wins through five games than they had all of last season.

The Terps went 1-4 against ranked teams last season, with the only win coming against No. 19 Michigan State 97-57 on Jan. 6.

“I love where our team’s at and where our focus is at,” Frese said. “I love that, in these first five games, we’ve played teams that are going to help make us better.”

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