That's More Like It

The Terps did what they were supposed to do tonight at Comcast Center. They aimed to crush Boston College, and they did, 86-44. The Eagles came into the game with a Conference-worst record, 0-8, and they left with a Conference-worst record, 0-9. That's what was supposed to happen.

Maryland scored more points in the first half (51) than the Eagles would score in the entire game (44). At the intermission, Laurin Mincy had scored as many points (13) as the entire Boston College team. And, for the record, by halftime, every Terp had played, and by the final buzzer, every Terp had scored. In fact, Maryland's reserves played the bulk of the minutes in the second half. No Terps starter saw more than 24 minutes of action.

The BCs are hard-pressed to recall a night when Maryland hit so many long-range bombs since Kristi Toliver graduated. The Terps nailed 10 of 18 shots from beyond the arc -- that's 55.6% -- leading to a very busy evening for the cheerleaders charged with tossing "three point Tees" into the crowd. (We were actually wondering if they might run out of shirts.) Half of Maryland's three-pointers were courtesy of Laurin Mincy, who was deadly from long range (5 of 7). Laurin also completed a rare 4-point play when she was fouled (and did she ever sell it!) on a made three.

Laurin finished with 16 points (strangely missing all of her shots inside the arc, go figure), sharing game-high scoring honors with rookie Brene Moseley off the bench. Bones was 3-4 from 3-point range, but unlike Laurin, Bones actually scored from inside the arc. Alyssa Thomas, wearing tape on her left hand instead of a cast, started, played a total of 19 minutes (14 in the first half), and scored 14 points. Lynetta Kizer rounded out the Terps' double-digit scoring with 12.

Every Maryland player contributed to this evening's win, including a couple of players who didn't finish in double figures. The BCs were impressed with the play of Essence Townsend and Sequoia Austin . . . reserves who don't often get much playing time. Essence has improved her game so much this season. She had a great outing tonight on both ends of the floor. In 14 minutes of play, Essence blocked three shots and altered several others. She pulled down 4 boards, and scored 2 points. Sequoia, always a spark off the bench, scored 7 points in 11 minutes, including a beautiful three-pointer late in the game. She was also perfect from the free throw line, hitting 4 of 4. The BCs like perfect.

The Terps were supposed to win tonight, and they did.

Their next game, however, will not be easy. Maryland travels to Georgia Tech on Monday. The Yellow Jackets are always a tough opponent. Last year they resorted to turning the lights out to cool a Terps run. Who knows what trials await the Terps this time around. All we know is that Maryland will need to be ready for anything when they face the #22-ranked Jackets.

Go Terps . . . Beat GT