Overtime Double-Overtime Is Our Time. Perhaps you saw the feature in Friday's Weekend section of the Washington Post telling readers that one of the best entertainment values in the area is the Maryland Women's Basketball Team . . . fun, inexpensive and good! Well, this afternoon at Comcast, it seemed like the team wanted to be sure to send new (and old) fans home feeling like they got their money's worth. Did they ever! Not only were we treated to an exciting 40 minute performance in regulation, but the Terps then gave us not one, but two 5 minute encores -- double overtime -- before finally coming away with the win over ACC nemesis Georgia Tech, 99-95.

Though exciting for the fans, it didn't look to be so much fun for the Maryland players, as all afternoon we saw them being grabbed, pushed, bumped, swatted or held by the Yellow Jackets. And despite the greater number of fouls called on Tech, take the BasketCases' word for it, the officials didn't whistle them all . . . hardly. Physical play and some excellent shooting gave Tech not one, not two, but three good shots at knocking off the #4 team in the nation . . . but fortunately they failed. We know it sounds trite, but every time it looked as though it was curtains for the Terps, someone, somehow managed to make a play that would send the fat lady back to the Green Room.

Laura Harper and Crystal Langhorne each had huge double-double games, Harp with 24 points and 20 boards, and Lang with 31 and 15. "Wow" would be an understatement. Lang started the game needing 56 points to amass an incredible 2,000 for her career. We knew that, barring injury, she would get there fairly soon, but we didn't think she'd get more than halfway there this afternoon. Two other starters, Marissa Coleman and Marah Strickland, also finished in double figures, with 24 and 12 points, respectively. The indefatigable Marissa, by the way, played 49 of the 50 minutes, while Lang and Marah each played 48. Whew!

Speaking of Lang . . . As everyone knows by now, at UVA on Friday, she broke Vicky Bullett's record as Maryland's All-time Leading Scorer. Well, the ever-gracious Vicky was on hand today at mid-court prior to tip-off to give Lang the game ball from Friday to mark the occasion, having driven in from West Virginia to help honor Lang in this way. Vicky told us before the game how happy she was to be part of honoring Crystal, and how wonderful this accomplishment was not just for Lang but for the entire Maryland program.

Grace Under Pressure. Our nails weren't the only body parts tested by today's double-overtime game. When a woman is nearly 33 weeks pregnant, there are other organs that are being pressured more than usual. At a Rebounders social after the game with the coaches and players, Coach Frese fessed up to having told the team at the end of regulation that she didn't think her bladder could handle an overtime. But she found a way to make it through the first extra period and then, somehow, someway, like her players, Coach B found a way to make it through a second overtime as well . . . at which point the players concluded that they had tested her enough. We're all glad that she -- and the team -- made it through their two encores, successfully. And at the Rebounders social, more than one fan told us (and we agreed) that they were just glad that today's nail-biter didn't send Coach B into labor right then and there!

Coach B did promise us twice the fun at the beginning of the season. Today, for sure, we got twice the excitement . . . and most definitely our money's worth.