SPOKANE, WASH. – The Terrapin women’s basketball team had heard the talk.
The Terps knew that, after playing far from their best in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, people were questioning their determination, their toughness and their chances of getting back to the final four.
In the Spokane Regional semifinal Saturday, the top-seeded Terps answered the critics, putting together their best effort in weeks in a dominating 80-66 win over No. 4 seed Vanderbilt that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
“I just loved our defensive intensity and our hustle throughout the game,” coach Brenda Frese said. “We came out really inspired and wanted to come out and play as aggressive and focused as we could from the start.”
Defensively, especially early on, the Terps looked better than they had in a long time.
The Commodores wanted to play a deliberate half-court offense, a different strategy than the Terps had seen in the first two rounds against faster-paced Coppin State and Nebraska.
But the Terps were ready for the change of pace, swarming the ball and not letting the Commodores get much out of their offensive sets.
The Terps set the tone early, forcing turnovers on the Commodores’ first two possessions. They jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead and did not look back.
“We just wanted to make a conscious effort to go out there and get stops,” junior forward Marissa Coleman said. “We struggled with our perimeter defense a lot this season, and I think tonight, one through five, whoever was in the game, we communicated well, and we executed our game plan.”
On the other end of the floor, the Terps were able to establish a dominant inside presence, unleashing senior forwards Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper.
The Commodores had no answer to Langhorne’s athleticism, and the ACC Player of the Year finished with 28 points and nine rebounds after scoring 16 points in the first half.
“It’s no secret she’s our go-to player inside,” Frese said.
Harper bullied her way to the rim and repeatedly got to the free throw line, finishing with 11 points even after foul trouble slowed her production.
Coleman and freshman guard Marah Strickland shot the ball well from the outside, and junior guard Kristi Toliver played tremendously well running the point.
Often a shoot-first point guard, Toliver made her biggest impact Saturday spreading the ball around, finishing with eight assists and one turnover.
“I felt like Tom Brady,” Toliver said. “Everybody was just connecting. We had great chemistry, and everybody was executing offensively.”
The Terps led by as many as 18 in the first half and led 44-29 at halftime.
Even a lost shoe couldn’t slow the Terps’ momentum, as Strickland played for about a minute in the first half with one sneaker on after her right one fell off.
Strickland hit a 3 on the Terps’ first possession after she put her shoe back on after a whistle.
“The girl came down and stepped on my heel, and I couldn’t get [the ref’s attention],” Strickland said. “I just kicked it into the stands and continued to play.”
The Commodores showed some flickers of life early in the second half, but the Terps always seemed to have an answer.
Frese called a wake-up call timeout when the Commodores got within 12 a few minutes into the half, and the Terps responded by not allowing the Commodores to get close again for the rest of the game.
Even as time began to get short, the Commodores were mostly unwilling to push the tempo offensively, looking content to fade away with a struggling half-court offense.
The Terps made more than enough plays down the stretch to advance with an easier-than-expected 14-point win.
So maybe now the Terps will get more credit as a bona fide championship contender?
“I hope not,” Frese said. “I like it right where it’s at. It reminds me of two years ago.”
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