The BCs Are Hitting the Pause Button . . .

Not to worry, nothing's wrong.  We're just taking a little break from the blogosphere -- and basketball -- for a bit.

But we will be back blogging!  (Almost certainly for the Duke game!)

So until we return from our little blogging hiatus . . .

Go Terps . . . Beat Everybody!

The Terps Won the Game Today, but sustained a BIG loss this weekend, when freshman Tierney Pfirman collided with a scout player during practice on Saturday and suffered a dislocated kneecap.  Ouch!  Needless to say, Tierney did not travel with the team to Atlanta for this afternoon's contest against Georgia Tech.  During ESPN's broadcast of the game, LaChina Robinson reported that Tierney's kneecap had slid 90-degrees to the side of her leg after the collision.  Ewww!   Exactly how long Tierney will be out is not yet known; the team is awaiting an MRI report.  The BCs feel so bad for Tierney, who was really starting to come into her own.  We hope that nothing major is wrong and that she'll be back in action soon.

With Tierney out today, the Terps' roster was back to 8, including recent walk-on Caitlin Adams.  But, thankfully, 8 was enough (7, actually, since Caitlin did not play), as the Terps beat the Yellow Jackets on the road, 66-57. 

Georgia Tech is always a tough, physical opponent, and today's game was tough and today's game was physical.  The Terps turned the ball over far too many times (24, to be exact), and trailed for much of the first period.  But thanks once again to the Dynamic Duo of Alyssa Thomas and Tianna Hawkins, aided today by Alicia DeVaughn -- all three of whom had double-doubles -- the Terps managed to take a small lead by halftime, 32-29.  Largely due to an early second half scoring blitz by AT, the Terps built a 16 point lead with about 14 minutes left in the game.  After that, things got a little dicey for a while, as the Yellow Jackets chipped away at the Terps' lead and closed the gap to 5 with only two minutes left.  Fortunately that was as close as they would get, as Maryland rebuilt the lead back to 9 points and hung on for the win.

Alyssa, who played all 40 minutes, had another monster game, leading all scorers with 28 points.  (She also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 8 assists, once again flirting with a triple-double.)  Some of AT's buckets were highlight-reel material that made this game great fun to watch. ESPN announcers LaChina and Pam Ward could not say enough good things about Alyssa during the broadcast. They love her!  (As do her teammates, coaches and Maryland fans everywhere.)  T-Hawk scored 16 points and pulled down 14 boards before fouling out (again), and Alicia finished with 11 points and 12 boards.

The BCs want to give a special shout-out to Katie Rutan, who continues to display incredible toughness despite playing with a broken nose that requires her to wear an uncomfortable full-face mask.  Katie, who started today in place of the injured Tierney, not only takes charges from the offense and bounces right back, but this afternoon she was the victim of friendly fire when T-Hawk landed on her chest after a scrum under the basket.  Ugh!  Katie was clearly hurting; she seemed a little dazed, a little bloody, and a lot bruised. She left the court briefly, but was then right back within a couple of minutes.  Katie definitely gets the BC's Purple Heart Award of the day.

This game was a tough one for all of Maryland's starters.  With their bench even shorter than usual, all five starters played 33 minutes or more against a Tech team that used 11 players and pressed them throughout.  That's an exhausting afternoon, even for a very fit group of young women. 

This afternoon's win was the Terps' 5th in a row, improving their ACC record to 6-1.  Next up is a re-match against UNC, at Comcast on Thursday night at 8:30 PM.

Go Terps . . . Beat the Tar Heels! 

(And Tierney . . . Get Well Soon!)

With about 10 minutes remaining in tonight's game, and Maryland leading NC State by roughly 30 points, TV play-by-play announcer Mike Hogewood pronounced the Terps "firmly in control." Of course, immediately after that, the Wolfpack went on a double-digit run.  Thanks, Mike.

But Mike was right. At no point in tonight's contest was the outcome ever in doubt.  The bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic Terps dominated NC State in practically every statistical category. Given the late hour at which this game started, the BCs (who watched from home) even started writing this post before the game ended . . . something we rarely ever do.  That's how confident we were of the final outcome.  For the record, Maryland won, 82-60.

The Terps were led by their senior (soon-to-be WNBA first-rounder), Tianna Hawkins.  Talk about filling up a stat line!  Would you believe 26 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block?! That's just sick.  (Not sick like the flu that one of the BCs is still struggling with, but sick like amazing.) Great job, T!

Alyssa Thomas and Tierney Pfirman also finished in double figures.  AT, despite a long first half stretch on the bench due to foul trouble, dropped in 18 points, pulled down 7 boards, and served up 6 assists (some of those to Tianna for easy buckets).  Tierney finished with 16 points, 6 of them coming on 2 of 4 shots from beyond the arc.  Tierney also grabbed 8 rebounds, and had 2 assists and 2 steals.  A very good night for this very enthusiastic young freshman.  She's already becoming one of the BC's favorites.

So, Maryland records its 4th straight ACC victory of season (5-1 overall).  Meanwhile, poor NC State drops to 0-6 in Conference play.  Next up, the Terps travel to Atlanta on Sunday for a 3 PM tip-off against their opponent in last season's ACC Tournament final, the always-tough Georgia Tech. Sunday's game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.   So no excuses for not watching this one.

Go Terps . . . Beat the Yellow Jackets!

By The Numbers

The BCs were looking forward to listening to the live audio broadcast of Maryland's game at Virginia Tech this afternoon, but thanks to an epic fail by CBSsports.com, all we had was a Toyota commercial. Fortunately, the Hokies had a great live stats page, so at least we got to follow the "action" by the numbers.

Good Numbers: Maryland routed the Hokies, 74-45.  Alyssa Thomas had a monster game: 26 points, 18 rebounds, and 6 assists, notching her double-double with more than 4 minutes left in the first half. Other Terps finishing in double figures: T-Hawk (14), freshman Tierney Pfirman, who had a terrific outing with 11 points (including 2 of 3 from behind the arc) and 7 boards, and Katie Rutan (11, including a perfect 2 of 2 threes).

Bad Number:  22 Maryland turnovers.  Ugh. (And too many first half fouls!)

Interesting Number:  1:47: the time left in the final period when Volleyballer Caitlin Adams entered the game.

The Terps are now 4-1 in the ACC.  Their next game is at home against NC State on Thursday; tip-off is at the (too) late hour of 8:30 PM.

Go Terps . . . Beat the Wolfpack!

* * * * * *

And the Golden Globe Weekly Honors Go To  . . . Alyssa Thomas! On Monday it was announced that AT earned ACC Player-of-the-Week honors!  Congrats, Alyssa!  But, wait, there's more! She was also voted, by ESPN sportswriters, the ESPNW  Player-of-the-Week! Double Congrats to AT!

Fan Appreciation Day . . . $1 tickets, $1 hot dogs, $1 sodas, and a great game.  What a deal!

After not beating Miami at Comcast since 2009, the Terps (despite serious first half foul trouble) ran the #24/25 ranked 'Canes ragged in the second period and coasted to an easy 84-62 win.  Even Maryland's newest addition, Senior Volleyball star Caitlin Adams, got a minute or so of playing time in this evening's blow-out victory.

The BCs were really looking forward to seeing tonight's game in person, but that pesky flu bug had other plans for us.  Instead of a $1 ticket (and hot dogs!), we shelled out (pun intended) $9.95 for a one-month subscription to Terps TV premium events.  So, we did "see" the game on our laptop at home . . . and we definitely enjoyed it.  But we're certain the fans at Comcast had an even better time.  Games like these are just plain F-U-N when you're in the house.  No doubt all the Terps fans headed for home feeling very "appreciated".

And speaking of appreciation, we can't begin to tell you how much we appreciated the play tonight of Freshman PG Chloe Pavlech!  With Alicia, Alyssa and T-Hawk all struggling with first half fouls, Chloe's shooting held Miami at bay until reinforcements arrived in the second period.  Chloe's previous career high was 10 points; tonight she doubled that, finishing with a game-high 20 points, on 8-11 shooting, including hitting 50% (3-6) from beyond the arc.  All this offensive output while still taking very good (veteran-like) care of the basketball for 35 minutes.

The usual suspects, Alyssa and T-Hawk, also played major roles in this dominating win.  Each chipped in 18 points, and Tianna added another double-double to her resume, pulling down a game-high 11 boards. Malina Howard also finished in double figures with 10 points.

The BCs want to mention, too, how much we "appreciated" the spark that Katie Rutan provided off the bench.  What a tough player!  She has a broken nose, she's wearing an uncomfortable face-mask . . . but still she shoots 50% from the field (8 pts), chases down lose balls, plays aggressive defense, and has a couple of dishes and a steal.  Twenty-seven minutes of good, solid play tonight -- a big part of why the Terps finished on the winning side of a very lop-sided score.

A good all around team win.  Two in a row in Conference play. Maryland's record now stands at 3-1 in the ACC.  Hopefully the Terps can build on that when they travel to Virginia Tech on Sunday.

Go Maryland . . . Beat the Hokies!