Taking It On the Road

The Terps traveled tonight to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, where nearly 11,000 Purdue fans, plus the #20 ranked Boilermaker team did everything possible to upset the #11 ranked Terps. But Maryland's "road warriors" prevailed, 70-59. Don't let the final score fool you. As Camille Powell reports in her Washington Post article (Sports Section, page 1!), this was a very closely contested game.

After the opening tip-off, the Terps raced out to a 9-2 lead. (They were probably PO'd because most of the Maryland starters' names were misspelled in the Big Ten Network pregame intro.) But, as often happens, their opponent regrouped and Maryland lost focus. Halftime score: 28-25 in favor of Purdue. Without the outstanding first half play by "Big Strick" and Dee Liles, the margin would have been even wider.

We don't know what was said in the locker room at half-time, but it clearly was what the team needed to hear, as Maryland played with more intensity on both ends of the floor after the break. And, down the stretch, senior starters Kristi and Marissa -- who each played the entire game -- took over and led the team to a BIG road win. Defeating a ranked team in a hostile arena says a lot about how far the Terps have come since that season opening loss at TCU.

Also tonight in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Duke beat unranked Iowa, 71-47. (Hey, who decided these pairings, anyway?) And Clemson pulled out a win over Northwestern in overtime, 78-75. So right now, it's ACC 6, Big Ten 0, with 3 games in progress as we write this.

Go ACC!

Results Update: In the the second half of the Big Ten Network double-header, Debbie Ryan's Cavs destroyed Jolette Law's Illini, as UVA coasted to a 63-39 win. Unfortunately, the other two ACC teams didn't fare as well: Boston College lost to the Golden Gophers (we love that name!) of Minnesota, 80-60; and Wisconsin held on to beat the Hokies, 61-52. So, at the end of Day 2 of the Challenge: ACC 7, Big Ten 2.

The inter-conference series wraps up Friday evening when NC State travels to Ann Arbor to face the Michigan Wolverines (TV: Big Ten Network at 6:30 PM). And at 7 PM, Miami hosts Indiana for the final game of the 2008 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. At this point, these games are just for pride -- with 7 wins, the ACC has already won the 2008 Challenge. The Series now stands: ACC 2, Big Ten 0. Way to go, ACC!!!