A Good Start

The Terps opened their 2010-2011 regular season today with an exclamation point, trouncing the Monmouth Hawks at Comcast, 73-40. In fact, the game was pretty much over after the opening few minutes, as Maryland got off to a very an extremely good 24-2 start, which meant that the Hawks, though they played hard and never gave up, were really just playing for second place.

The young, high-energy Terps were fun to watch, and it was clear that D-fence is a point of emphasis this season, as the Terps were all over the Hawks . . . grabbing 11 steals during the first half alone. Unfortunately, the Terps didn't take advantage of all those steals . . . to be blunt, Maryland was pretty bad at finishing in transition. Something tells us that may be a new point of emphasis in upcoming practices.

Freshman Laurin Mincy kicked off her Maryland career today with a bang, leading all scorers with 15 points. Her rookie teammate, Alyssa Thomas, was also in double figures (10), as were Lynetta Kizer and Diandra T (11 points each). And the Terps were nearly perfect from the free throw line, hitting 19 of 21 attempts. All in all, a very good start indeed!

After the game, the Terps held the first ever "Meet the Team" event for season ticket holders, hosted on the court by two of Maryland's most famous alums, Laura Harper and Marissa Coleman. We got to hear from Coach B and each member of the team, and it was pretty obvious the six freshmen are already a close knit group. The only discordant note of the day was learning that freshman Whitney Bays is going to redshirt this season. Whitney, who is working her way back from an ACL tear suffered in high school, played in the two exhibitions. No doubt she has to be disappointed that she'll only get to practice (not play in games) with her teammates this season. But with additional time to heal and get stronger, hopefully her career at Maryland will be very successful and very enjoyable.

With a home win under their belts, it's now time for the Terps to "hit the road" -- heading all the way to downtown D.C. on Tuesday at 7 PM to take on the #13-ranked (but under-publicized) Georgetown Hoyas. If preseason predictions are correct, this could be the 2nd toughest team that Maryland faces in the regular season. (The #1 toughest being a 4-letter word that we prefer not to use on this blog unless absolutely necessary.) Fan support is extemely important for the young Terps, so let's Rock the Red at McDonough!

Go Terps! Beat the Hoyas!