Maryland Lady Terps Win 2009 ACC Tournament

It was another battle to save in the vault between the Terps and the Blue Devils. Though this was the first time they met in the ACC Tournament finals, it wasn’t their first meeting in a final in their history. But, as in the 2006 NCAA Championship game, Maryland toughed it out for a hard-won win (Duke 89 – MD 92).

This was the sort of game that you expected from the #4 (Maryland) and #8 (Duke) teams in the nation come tournament time. With each team making runs throughout the game, it was hard to predict who would ultimately come out on top. I can’t help but think that the national championship experience of the coaches and especially Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver help provide that extra bit of calm that you need to have to gut out these sorts of victories. Though Maryland would have lapses of focus from time-to-time during the game, they have a confidence that in the end, they will win.

Still, you could never count the Blue Devils out. Abby Waner and Chante Black wanted this title every bit as much as Coleman and Toliver. When Chante Black made the last-second tap-in at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime, what fan of the game didn’t think back to Toliver’s shot in 2006 to send that game into OT. Duke definitely had the momentum.

Neither team held back in the extra five-minute period. Shots went up and found the net. Defenses tightened and battled. You couldn’t ask for more. This was a great game for both teams. While I’d have been disappointed if Maryland had lost, I’d also have stood up and cheered. I can still remember an ACC tournament over 20 years ago that Maryland lost. At the end of the game, I was so proud at the fight the Terps had shown. Who had the higher score didn’t matter…the victory was in the fearless and relentless effort by both teams. I’m told that Maryland Head Coach Weller was no less proud of the effort.

For this game, I wished that the refereeing had been up to the same caliber as the play. There were some obviously poor calls both ways, though the crowd was perhaps the most vocal when Duke player physicality against Marissa Coleman was all but ignored.

It’s been observed in studies that home court crowds to have an effect on officiating to the benefit of the home team. While it’s economically convenient for the ACC Tournament to be held in Greensboro, the fact that it’s in North Carolina means that one third of the conference schools (North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest) get some advantage over teams such as Boston College, Maryland, Florida State, and more that never see the tournament on a “neutral” court closer to home.

Oh, I do want to give a big shout out to Kristi Toliver. K.T. became the third person in school history to surpass the 2,000-point mark in her career (joining Crystal Langhorne and Coleman). With two 2,000-point scorers, is it no wonder that Maryland is an offense-oriented team.

It’s often said that defense wins championships. With Maryland’s trophies and the 2007 WNBA championship won by hi-scoring Phoenix, I think it’s easy to make a case for offense winning championships as well. It’s a point of view thing. One holds that if you score more than your opponent, you win. The other is if you make your opponent score fewer than you, then you win. It’s sort of a glass half-full/half-empty sort of thing.

What this ACC tournament showed me about Maryland was that not only is it one of the best teams in the countries and now just about a lock to get a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but that Coach B (Brenda Frese) has a lot to look forward to when “K.T.” and “Riss” graduate. Kizer, Liles, Rodgers, Strickland, and Barrett form a solid core for next season. When you add in the freshman coming in, Frese’s stewardship of the team looks to be pretty healthy.

But don’t count out Coach P (Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie). In her two years at the helm, she has made Duke just as fearsome as Coach G (now Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors) had during her tenure. There is little doubt that this changing of the coaching guard in the ACC is going to generate many years worth of college basketball played at a high level without compromise.

So, now with only the NCAA tournament ahead of them, I offer my thanks and congratulations to the University of Maryland Terrapins. ACC regular season champs. ACC tournament champs. Kristi Toliver as ACC Player of the Year. Marissa Coleman, ACC Player of the just about everything else (including the tournament). And Coach B for knowing when to yell and more importantly, when not to.

(A slight boo to my local Comcast that doesn’t carry all of the Fox Sports regions, so the channel I watched cut the broadcast to another game before I could watch the post-game celebration :-( )

Official Basketball Box Score
#4/10 Duke vs Maryland
03/08/09 1:00 pm at the Greensboro Coliseum

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VISITORS: #4/10 Duke 26-5 (11-3 ACC)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
30 Carrem Gay.......... f  9-13   0-0    1-2    2  8 10   2  19  1  1  2  2  37
11 Chante Black........ c  3-11   0-0    5-6    3  5  8   4  11  1  2  1  1  28
04 Abby Waner.......... g  4-9    2-6    3-4    1  1  2   3  13  3  1  2  2  39
05 Jasmine Thomas...... g  6-19   0-2    4-4    0  2  2   1  16  5  0  0  1  39
15 Bridgette Mitchell.. g  4-6    0-0    0-2    3  3  6   3   8  2  2  0  0  15
13 Karima Christmas....    6-13   0-3    4-5    3  1  4   2  16  3  1  1  2  28
21 Joy Cheek...........    1-7    0-1    2-2    0  0  0   1   4  0  1  0  1  20
31 Keturah Jackson.....    1-4    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   4   2  3  0  0  2  16
34 Krystal Thomas......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
   TEAM................                         6  1  7
   Totals..............   34-82   2-12  19-25  18 21 39  20  89 18  8  6 11 225

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-39 41.0%   2nd Half: 15-34 44.1%   OT:  3-9  33.3%   Game: 41.5%
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0-6   0.0%   2nd Half:  2-3  66.7%   OT:  0-3   0.0%   Game: 16.7%
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-6  66.7%   2nd Half: 13-17 76.5%   OT:  2-2  100 %   Game: 76.0%
DEADB REBS 5,1

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HOME TEAM: Maryland 28-4 (12-2 ACC)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
13 Demauria Liles...... f  1-7    0-0    4-4    5  7 12   4   6  3  2  0  2  42
25 Marissa Coleman..... f 10-18   2-5    6-6    4 11 15   3  28  6  4  0  1  45
12 Lynetta Kizer....... c  2-3    0-0    2-2    0  3  3   4   6  0  2  1  0  19
05 Marah Strickland.... g  4-9    3-5    0-0    1  0  1   3  11  2  2  0  0  30
20 Kristi Toliver...... g  7-19   2-6    8-9    0  4  4   1  24  1  6  1  0  45
10 Anjale Barrett......    1-2    1-2    0-0    0  1  1   1   3  0  3  0  0  16
14 Yemi Oyefuwa........    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   2  0  0  0  1   5
22 Kim Rodgers.........    4-5    1-2    3-3    1  1  2   2  12  0  0  0  0  21
24 Drey Mingo..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
   TEAM................                         2  2  4   1
   Totals..............   30-64   9-20  23-24  13 30 43  20  92 12 19  2  4 225

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-29 48.3%   2nd Half: 13-29 44.8%   OT:  3-6  50.0%   Game: 46.9%
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-8  37.5%   2nd Half:  5-11 45.5%   OT:  1-1  100 %   Game: 45.0%
F Throw % 1st Half:  9-9  100 %   2nd Half: 10-11 90.9%   OT:  4-4  100 %   Game: 95.8%
DEADB REBS 0,1

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Officials: Eric Brewton, Sue Blauch, Felicia Grinter
Technical fouls: #4/10 Duke-None. Maryland-TEAM.
Attendance: 9943
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   OT   Total
#4/10 Duke....................   36   45    8  -   89
Maryland......................   40   41   11  -   92
Championship Game of the 2009 ACC Tournament
Maryland wins its ninth ACC championship and first since 1989