Romp!

After a full week of work, not to mention the major hassle of getting around during and after Wednesday's storm, we weren't exactly looking forward to a trip up to College Park for a game that didn't even start until the later-than-usual hour of 8:30 PM on a Friday night. Fortunately, however, the Terps made the trip well worth our while, as they demolished the overmatched Demon Deacons of Wake Forest, 75-44, in a non-competitive, but very fun-for-the-fans game. (Unless, of course, you were among the small group of loyal -- and enthusiastic -- Deacon fans in Comcast.)

There were standout performances all across the Maryland team. Super frosh Alyssa Thomas led all scorers with 19, and notched another double-double (11 boards). Kim Rodgers, in only 16 minutes off the bench, put up 17 points, including three consecutive three-pointers during the first half that had the fans out of their seats . . . not once, not twice, but three times! Ti-Hawk also booked another double-double, or perhaps we should say another double-dozen (12 points and 12 boards). Meanwhile, Diandra rounded out the Terps' double-digit scoring with 10.

Coach B (who is never one to run up the score on an overmatched opponent) substituted liberally during the second half, going as deep into her bench as she had players. Essence entered the game with about 10 minutes left to play, and fan favorite (walk-on) Sequoia made her appearance with about four minutes to go. At that point, nearly everyone on the Maryland team had scored, and Sequoia's teammates, to the delight of the crowd, on a single possession fed her the ball five times as she tried mightily to nail a three. Alas, she was not successful, and the fans "aahed" with each miss. But she did hit a 2-point jumper soon after, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd of nearly 5,000.

Tonight was the Team Tyler Leukemia Awareness game. Many fans stopped by the Team Tyler table on the concourse to purchase T-shirts and orange and green wristbands . . . the proceeds of which will be used to support leukemia programs at Johns Hopkins. The local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was also represented. They shared information about the disease and about their programs with all of us who visited their table. Later, Laura Harper announced that the Team Tyler Foundation was making its first donation to Johns Hopkins . . . a check in the amount of $5,000! Really wonderful.

After dropping their first two games of the ACC season to Duke and Boston College, the Terps have now won four in a row. They take a little break from Conference play on Sunday, when Longwood comes to Comcast at 2 PM (completing the second half of a home and home started last year). If Sunday's game is half as much fun as tonight's, then everybody will be in for a good time.

Go Terps . . . Beat the Lancers!