PREDICTION - Maryland 84, NC Central 37
Yeah, I'm pretty awesome.
No, seriously, this game was pretty predictable if one took the time to research how N.C. Central typically performed against big conference schools and this performance from them was no different. The Eagles turned it over 27 times, including 16 in the first half, and shot just 29.4% for the game. All Maryland had to do was basically show up and they did that and more.
That's one of the problems with women's college basketball: there's simply not much parity. Scorelines like this one aren't that uncommon. In fact, this isn't even THAT ugly. # 1 UConn beat Northeastern 105-35 the other day. LSU took down Centenary 92-19 yesterday. There simply aren't that many high quality women's basketball players to go around for everyone. But it is what it is and for the lucky teams like the Terps, they get to take advantage.
But anyway, the Terps basically dominated and the story for them was Lynetta Kizer making a dramatic statement of intent as the superstar on this year's team. She poured in a career-high 23 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in just 21 minutes. Going 10/12 from the floor and 3/3 from the foul line is just simply dominant. Great job by her asserting herself as the leader and star on this year's team.
Her's wasn't the only spectacular performance, however. Tianna Hawkins continued her tear of hot play, just missing her third straight double double with 15 points on 6/9 shooting and 8 rebounds. Both her and Diandra Tchatchouang, who had 11 on 5/7 shooting, are really producing well from the 3 spot. That's a huge boon for the Terps, who were looking at the 3 being a spot of weakness with no one anywhere close to proven (or even anyone that highly hyped) to replace Marissa Coleman but so far Hawkins and Tchatchouang have been excellent.
As for the rest of the team, it was a solid Maryland regular season debut for Lori Bjork, who had 10 points including 2/5 from beyond the arc and a team-high 6 assists. She was usually more of a scorer at Illinois but it's very nice to see the 2 guard distributing the ball as well. And the two highly touted freshman both contributed in different ways: Dara Taylor had 9 points and 5 assists and Essence Townsend had 4 points, 9 rebounds, and a team-high four blocks. If Townsend can be that kind of defensive presence night in and night out, she might quickly take Yemi Oyefuwa's job at center.
Yemi was one of the few players who struggled in this game, going 0/6 from the floor but she did manage to grab 7 rebounds. Anjale Barrett also struggled a bit, turning it over 4 times while only dishing out 2 assists and scoring just 6 points. They don't need a ton of offense from her, especially if both girls at the 3 are going to keep scoring, but a 1:2 assist/turnover ratio isn't acceptable.
All in all though, there's not too much to get upset about when you win by 49. Kizer was dominant, Bjork was an excellent second banana, both girls at the 3 played well, Townsend was a force on defense, Dara Taylor continued to impress, and everyone got some valuable minutes and experience in playing time. It's just North Carolina Central but this was a very impressive opening act from the Terps.
My apologies for getting this up late, it was a busy weekend. The next game? Tonight! Which means I'd better get on my horse and get a game preview up. Look for that in the next few hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment