Entering its third game in a span of six days, the Terrapin women’s basketball team had reason to be tired.
But fueled by a strong defensive performance and an offensive barrage from guard Lori Bjork and forward Diandra Tchatchouang, the Terps were able to pull out an 82-65 victory yesterday against Drexel (2-2).
After the game, coach Brenda Frese noted her team displayed a lot of determination and heart during its recent stint of three games in under a week.
“I thought it showed a lot of character from our end to be able to grind this game out,” Frese said.
The Terps (6-1) played well on the defensive side of the ball, forcing 14 turnovers, eight coming from steals. The team employed an uptempo style of play to shut down Drexel’s Gabriela Marginean. Despite Marginean’s 17-point output, the Terps felt they executed their game plan to stop he 6-foot-1 forward well. The team limited her to just four points in the second half.
Guard Kim Rodgers was given the task of guarding Marginean.
“Kim does a tremendous job defensively being physical,” Frese said. “She’s a smart, intelligent player, and we felt like it was probably gonna be the best matchup.”
On the other end of the court, Bjork and Tchatchouang handled a massive amount of the workload offensively for the Terps. Bjork recorded 19 points, with 12 coming from behind the three-point line. Tchatchouang recorded 18 points on 55 percent shooting.
Center Lynetta Kizer, who went down with an ankle sprain in Friday’s matchup against Howard, did not start but entered the game with 16:11 remaining in the first half. She made her presence felt instantly, hitting two straight baskets for the team’s first four points after her return.
A few minutes later, she grabbed an offensive board, turned and hit a jumper while being fouled. She went on to make the free throw to complete the three-point play. She would finish with 13 points in 18 minutes of playing time.
“It would get sore every now and then,” Kizer said. “But the coaches were smart with me. … [I’m] just staying positive I guess, like not trying to worry about the injury too much — just going out and playing.”
With the 17-point victory, the Terps won their third straight game since dropping an early season matchup against then-No. 25 Mississippi State. Yesterday’s win was also the Terps’ 42nd straight at home.
“I’m very, very proud of our veterans,” Frese said. “They just did a tremendous job showing a level of toughness. … I’m excited because when you have quick turnarounds — to be able to have that kind of play — it bodes well for our future.”
engelke@umdbk.com
