The Hardcore Maryland Fans who braved the miserable rush-hour traffic in the rain tonight to see the Terps take on St. Joseph's at Comcast were treated to Maryland's biggest offensive output of the season, as the Terps dominated the Hawks, 94-71. The normally earth-bound Turtles had no trouble eluding the St. Joe's birds of prey.

Playing in only her second game of the season, and her first at home, Lynetta Kizer, coming off the bench, posted a career-high and game-high 25 points (in only 24 minutes). Saturday may have been Netta's post-suspension debut, but tonight was definitely her coming out party!

In addition to scoring all those points, Netta should also be credited with one very much appreciated assist: Maryland's (talented) cheerleaders throw T-shirts into the crowd after every Terp 3-pointer this season. Well, thanks to a beautiful beyond-the-arc shot by Netta, the BCs netted a new Maryland Tee in the T-shirt-toss. (Thank you Netta! And thank you Cheerleaders!)

Several other Terps also had double-figure nights. Super-Soph Alyssa Thomas challenged the Hawks' defense in the paint (time and time again), either scoring or drawing the foul (or both) -- and finished with 21 points, 11 coming on free throws. Meanwhile, T-Hawk notched yet another double-double, putting up 17 points and pulling down a game-high 12 boards, a big part of the Terps' monster effort on the glass, as they outrebounded the Hawks, 57-22 (!). Laurin Mincy added 14 points (and 6 assists) and Alicia DeVaughn finished with double-digit rebounds (11).

Unfortunately, Anjale Barrett sustained a knee injury during the first half; she was helped off the court to the locker room . . . but fortunately appeared to be able to put some weight on the injured knee. We were heartened to see Anj return later to the arena -- though not to the game -- and we certainly hope that her injury turns out to be nothing serious.

As enjoyable as it was to watch all the scoring and rebounding, we have to confess that the game wasn't as much fun as some others . . . frankly, it lacked pace, as the whistle-happy officials interrupted play repeatedly, calling a total of 41 fouls. And they could've (and in some cases, should've) called more, if they had wanted to. There were quite a few trips, shoves and at least one obvious example of jersey-grabbing (by a Hawk, of course) that went unnoticed by the crew in black and white.

A good outing (and outcome!) by the Terps, but still a long night for fans and teams alike.

That's especially so since some of us still have an early workday tomorrow, and the Terps have an even earlier wake up call for their 5:00 AM flight to Miami. (However, if the BCs were headed for Miami in the morning, instead of to our offices, we wouldn't be complaining.)

Yes, next up for the Terps is Thanksgiving Day in South Florida. (Lucky them!) And after feasting on Thursday, the team gets to work off those holiday calories with back-to-back games at a holiday tournament on Friday and Saturday, first against tournament host Florida International University (6 PM Friday), and then against CSU Bakersfield (2 PM Saturday).

The BCs are very thankful for all the blessings and joy in our lives, including the joy of Maryland Women's Basketball. We wish every one associated with the program, and every one of our readers, a very Happy Thanksgiving. And to all those who are hitting the road this week, we wish you safe travels.

Go Terps! Beat the Golden Panthers . . . and then the Road Runners!