BALTIMORE – As the Terrapins women’s basketball team exited a timeout midway through the first half of its contest against UMBC, a familiar face stepped on the court for the first time this season.
After spending the Terps’ first three games cemented on the bench due to a Nov. 1 suspension for a violation of team rules, Lynetta Kizer made her long-awaited 2011 debut in Baltimore on Saturday night. And it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Terps.
With forward Tianna Hawkins struggling with foul trouble in the second half and forward Alyssa Thomas in the midst of one of the worst performances of her career, the presence of the Terps’ star center proved to be integral in the team’s first road contest of the season.
Kizer played 14 of her 19 minutes in the second half, totaling 12 points and three rebounds in a 70-59 victory over UMBC. It was the Terps’ lowest-scoring output and closest margin of victory of the season.
“I really like how Lynetta played. She let the game come to her and gave us a big spark with her presence inside,” coach Brenda Frese said. “We learned a lot about our team tonight.”
After cruising to three straight home victories by an average margin of more than 31 points per game to start the season, the Terps (4-0) received a much tougher test in their first road contest against the Retrievers (2-2).
Kizer made her first appearance of the season at the 11:45 mark, but even her five first-half points couldn’t help the Terps pull away from a motivated UMBC team. After trailing by 14 points midway through the half, the Retrievers whittled their deficit down to nine at the break, the second-lowest lead the Terps have had at halftime this season.
“We did a good job of controlling the tempo,” UMBC coach Phil Stern said. “We didn’t take a lot of quick shots, we ran our stuff. … That’s our M.O. — to control the pace of the game.”
Hawkins finished the first half with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but after picking up her second and third personal fouls within the first three minutes of the second half, Kizer’s return to the team proved to be vital to its end-of-game depth. Hawkins spent the next 13 minutes on the bench, leaving Kizer as the primary frontcourt presence.
The Retrievers cut the Terps’ deficit to as low as three points during the second half, but even the support of a frenzied home crowd wasn’t enough to allow them to take the lead. Kizer scored more than half of her 12 points in the second half while Hawkins finished with a game-high 19 points and 18 rebounds, leading the Terps to an 11-point victory.
“It feels good,” Kizer said. “I was excited to play today and I’m proud of my teammates, how they welcomed me back. It was a fun run.”
But it wasn’t all positive for the Terps in a victory. An aggressive UMBC defense held the Terps to less than 37 percent shooting for the game and was especially successful against Thomas, who finished with a near-career-worst six points on 3-for-13 shooting.
“Alyssa was kind of pressing tonight,” Frese said. “Sometimes when you press and want the game to come to you, it’s not going to.”
Still, the Terps had Kizer, and in their first road action of the season, that was enough to keep the team perfect through four games.
“I thought UMBC gave us a complete 40-minute game,” Frese said. “First time on the road for us, a tough environment; it was a great opportunity for us to learn what road games are going to look like and how they’re going to feel and sound.”
vitale@umdbk.com
