Terps Rally For Title
Maryland entered this weekend the clear underdog against three opponents with Final Four pedigrees. They left with the trophy, proving that "experience isn't everything."
Freshman point guard Kristi Toliver scored the team's final five points in regulation -- including a rainbow three-pointer from the right corner over 6-7 Alison Bales that tied the game with six seconds to play -- then made the go-ahead free throws in overtime in the Terps' 78-75 win in last night's national championship game. Toliver's heroics capped a 13-point comeback, and gave the school its first-ever women's basketball title.
It's also the first championship for Maryland head coach Brenda Frese, who has taken the Terps from 10-18 to 34-4 and the title in just four years. With the win last night, Maryland becomes just the fourth school -- North Carolina, Connecticut, and Stanford are the others -- to win championships in both men's and women's basketball.
It gets even better for Maryland fans. Of the eight players who saw time in the championship game, seven will return next year. Shay Doron (16 points) is a junior; Laura Harper (16), Crystal Langhorne (12), Ashleigh Newman (4), and Jade Perry (4) are sophomores; and Marissa Coleman (10) joins Toliver in the freshman class. Harper was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
In a sport traditionally dominated by -- if not dynasties -- perennial powerhouses, could we be adding Maryland to the list of year-in, year-out title contenders headed by Connecticut and Tennessee? With one national championship already under the collective belt of this young, talented team, it's certainly a possibility.
Maryland officials planned a celebration today at 3 p.m. at the outdoor amphitheater adjacent to Stamp Student Union on the College Park campus.
The victory also gave Maryland fans the opportunity to behave like jackasses. Although the disorder didn't approach the levels of when the Maryland men's team won their title in 2002, it's nice to see Terps supporters showing the same misguided enthusiasm for the women.