It felt like old times at Comcast Center. Coach Brenda Frese was courtside while Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper were playing on the court.
But unlike the past four years, this game was at Verizon Center, and Frese was not coaching. Instead, she was watching her former stars duel each other on separate teams June 11 as part of their first game against one another in the WNBA.
Last April, Langhorne was drafted sixth by the Washington Mystics, while Harper was selected 10th by the Sacramento Monarchs. In their first professional game as competitors, Harper’s Monarchs prevailed, 79-76.
“I have battled with her for eight years so it’s nothing new,” Harper said. “I am glad she played really well, and I am glad we won.”
“It was weird because we had been playing together so long,” Langhorne said. “I don’t talk to her as much, and I can’t say stuff to her [on the court] because we are opponents.”
Verizon Center could have easily been mistaken for Comcast, as the battle between the Mystics and the Monarchs brought many Terp fans into the building. The Mystics’ marketing crew even asked Terps trivia for its arena contests.
“It just continues to reinforce why we have the best fans in the country out there,” Frese said. “For them to come out on a weeknight to support Laura and Crystal… I know how much it meant to both of them, and they really appreciated it and really savored that moment to see their family, friends and fans come out to support them. It just shows what tremendous fans we have.”
Langhorne, the Terps’ all-time leading scorer, came into the game averaging slightly more than nine minutes per game, three points per game, and less than three rebounds per game. Against Harper and the Monarchs, though, she logged 26 minutes and posted her first WNBA double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
While Langhorne showed her prowess in the paint as a scorer, Harper showed her ability as a defender. She scored six points and pulled down four rebounds. But Harper’s biggest play was a blocked shot in the paint that sent the ball into the first row and drew a chorus of cheers from the Terps fans who were out in full force.
She also came away with the most important statistic – a win for her Monarchs.
“I wish I could do this more than just once a year,” Harper said about coming back home to play.
Harper and Langhorne battled each other head-to-head throughout the game. In man-to-man defense Langhorne’s assignment was Harper. At one point, both players ended up battling for the ball, resulting in a jump ball, which Harper controlled.
“I knew people were probably taking a lot of pictures at that one,” Langhorne said. “I know Harp’ can jump a lot higher than I can, so I figured that she was probably going to get the jump.”
“We rooted for both of them,” senior forward Marissa Coleman, one of the Terps in attendance, said. “If they were guarding each other, we were cheering for Lang to score on Harper and for Harper to stop her. We were here to support them.”
After the game Frese, Langhorne and Harper held a “chalk talk” session with fans and the former Terps also signed autographs. Once their duel at Verizon was over, Harper, Langhorne and the rest of the Terps went out for dinner together – just as they did so often in the past.
“It was a very special moment and one that we will all remember for the rest of our lives,” Frese said. “It’s a special memory and a special opportunity to watch Crystal and Laura living out their lifelong dream.”
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