Big Monday recap: Duke vs. Maryland

At the beginning of the season the seniors on the University of Maryland women's basketball team set goals. One of them was to end the Terrapins 9 game home losing streak against the duke blue devils. On a chilly Monday night they accomplished just that and by doing so became the first team this season with 20 wins (10 straight).

This rematch of the 2006 championship game (which the Terps won in overtime) looked as if it would be a route as the Terrapins came out the gate with a lot of energy and jumped out to a big lead before Duke battled back with a run of their own. Maryland ended the first half with and 11 point lead.

At the start of the second half after being down 13 Duke used a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 47-43. Maryland responded by extending the lead back to 9 but couldn't put the game away. The Blue devils were resilient though. They kept battling and eventually tied the score at 65 on 7-0 flurry.

There were 7 minutes left. All of the sudden this was anybody's game.

Then the Maryland Terrapins kicked back into gear. They closed the game on a 17-2 run.

Marissa Coleman tied a career high with 30 pts as the No.4 Terps came away with the 85-70 win over the No.13 Blue Devils. The junior guard seemed to be on a mission to make sure her senior teammates went out with this win, leaving even her coach a little in awe.

Krisit Toliver scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half and added 6 assists. Crystal Langhorne added 16 points and 7 boards in a game where the Terps sometimes looked bored with big leads.

Jasmine Thomas and Wanisha Smith netted 17 points a piece for Duke who saw a 8 game winning streak snapped.

The Blue Devils fought valiantly but in the end poor free throw shooting and a lack of execution down the stretch proved detrimental.

Overall the game was a great one for fans to watch and a great start to a series of 8 potentially exciting Big Monday games on ESPN.
Next up is the much anticipated match up between Connecticut and North Carolina.

*Game Notes*
-The rivalry match up drew a crowd of 15,531. That's the 5th largest crowd in ACC history.
- Maryland's victory was its first against Duke since the 2005-2006 national championship game victory and the first regular-season win since Feb. 3, 2000. It was the first home win against Duke since Jan. 30, 1998.
-With nine rebounds, Laura Harper moved into fifth place all-time at Maryland with 724, passing Christy Winters.

Click Here For Post Game Quotes

Next up, UNC at UConn....
JayD

Just When You Thought There Was Parity

From 1995- 2004 other than wins from Purdue and Notre Dame, the national championship resided in Knoxville(Tenn) or Storrs(CT). People started to wonder if the Huskies and Lady Vols would be dominant forever. Some even made note not to watch games.

Then, Diana graduated.

The following season you had Baylor win an improbable championship over Michigan State. The NCAA's encore, was to have Maryland and Duke play a beautiful game and eventually crown Maryland as the champs. Fans were happy (well except UConn and Tennessee fans). There was parity in the game now. You could tune in on the nights where women's basketball was on and never know who was gonna win until the final buzzer sounded.

Then Candace Parker took over.

She led the Lady Vols throughout the season. Proving them to be dominant. They ended the storybook run of a great and talented Rutgers team. Once again one of the Powerhouses emerged champion. Pat Summit aka Queen Pat (Long Live the Queen) had won lucky number 7.

Now its Maya Moore's turn.

The freshmen is looking to guide UConn in the same kind of season Tennessee had last year, and she has plenty of support including the last two Big East freshman of the year (Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles). The Huskies looked poised for greatness. Geno the Great (who already has 2 undefeated runs) has this team playing better defense than any UConn team before them. Their scoring margin is higher than that of the two undefeated teams and they are #1 in the country.

But Candace Parker isn't finished yet.

In what will most likely be her final season CP3 looks as dominating as ever. She is still the number one player in the country (although as read in my first blog, thats arguable). Her talent added to the experience she has just makes Candace Parker hungry to repeat. Despite a loss to Stanford early this season Tennessee is just as good if not better than they were a year ago.

So what's this mean?

I don't know. Although teams are much closer to UConn (I say this lightly because even Stanford lost pretty handily) and Tennesee than in past seasons when they were at thier peak, the difference is still pretty great. But then again anything can happen come on any given day. My guess though? One of these two teams will be champions this season and judging from the potential of their recruiting classes, parity is not as close as most might like it to be.

vs.

Jay D

"Beauty and a Baller"

The NCAA Women's Basketball Season starts with some wonderful matches.
A double header in North Carolina at the State Farm Classic. The Lady Tar Heels(#7) against Arizona St. (#12) followed by Oklahoma (#8) vs. U of Maryland (#4).

So I thought I'd take this time out to mention some ladies that I consider to be both a "Beauty and a Baller". Now, this is MY opinion, so IDGAF what YOU think.

And now to the athletes:

<-------------Ms. Parker

Candace Parker

The defending National Champ has her eyes set on a encore season. Pre-Season Player of the Year and the most exciting player to watch on the Womens side. She can dunk on you during a fast break or half court set. So watch out below!!
People Magazine's 100 Most beautiful People, (2007).

The Precious Point----------->

Renee Montgomery

Playing under the National Power house at UConn.
This phenomenal Floor General leads a team that can win it all.
In the State the 50 runs (CT), Renee is like money in the bank.

<-----From Maryland with Love

Kristi Toliver

Two years ago as a freshman, she stole my heart and Duke's chance at a National Title with what is known around Maryland as "The Shot". On a Maryland team that has firepower to return the title to College Park.

The Southern Belle------->

Sabrina Gregory

Returning to the UNC Charlotte 49ers for a run at the A-10 title.
The Senior led the team in Points, Assists and steals last year.
This Belle is looking to take her team to the big dance this year.
She's also 54 pts shy of 1,000 for her career.

<----From My NEC of the Woods

Shanay Freeman

Playing in the North East Conference (NEC), this guard is the defensive leader on a trapping defense. Like the energizer bunny while in the game, she is continually moving, scrapping and getting steals. With a new coach in town, she'll be the one they lean on to keep the team "going and going".




Many of the female student athletes are beautiful women, inside and out (besides what Imus and his boys think). So check out the games this season...
I'll be watching..lol

Mr. Talented

p.s....who do you think i missed???