Colleges

Tenacious Terps

Maryland completes a comeback from 13 down to stun top-seeded Duke and win the national title.

By GREG AUMAN
Published April 5, 2006

BOSTON - For the underdog Terrapins, call it one shell of a wild postseason run.

Brash, young Maryland, hidden in the shadows of top-ranked North Carolina and Duke teams all season, got clutch shots from its freshmen down the stretch, rallying from a 13-point second-half deficit to knock off top-seeded Duke in a 78-75 overtime thriller Tuesday night.

"Our leadership and our veterans kept us in the game, but once our two young players settled down, they played with so much confidence," said coach Brenda Frese, whose team matched the second-biggest comeback in a championship game. "We never treated them as freshmen. From the minute they stepped on campus, they wanted the pressure. They wanted the expectations."

Freshman point guard Kristi Toliver, who scored five points in the final 25 seconds of regulation to force overtime, hit two free throws with 34 seconds left in the extra period to put Maryland (34-4) ahead, and fellow freshman Marissa Coleman added two more with 13 seconds to play.

"Big-time players want the ball in big-time situations," said Toliver, whose team had the lead a total of 75 seconds out of 85 minutes.

Duke (31-4) had a 3-point attempt from senior Jessica Foley fall short at the buzzer, leaving coach Gail Goestenkors without the national title that continues to elude her despite years among basketball's elite programs.

"They just continued to gain more confidence the longer they played with us," said Goestenkors, whose team had beaten Maryland 14 times in a row until an upset in last month's ACC tournament.

Again, it was the upstart Terrapins, who hadn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 1992. Maryland's first national championship was also the first overtime title game in 15 years, fitting for a team that went 6-0 in the extra period this season.

"Overtime is our time," Frese had said three days earlier, and that same comment drew the biggest cheers from a sellout crowd of 18,642 after the game.

Toliver, who had committed 12 turnovers in Maryland's semifinal win against No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday, matched the team high with 16 points, the biggest coming on a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left - "an MJ shot," as teammate Laura Harper called it - to force overtime.

The shot from the 5-foot-7 guard went over 6-7 center Alison Bales, who had set an NCAA Tournament record with 30 blocks.

"That's a big girl. I knew if it got over her, it felt pretty good," Toliver said.

Harper earned Most Outstanding Player honors after scoring 16, but Maryland's balance was key, with five players scoring in double figures.

Toliver also made the all-tournament team, as did Duke's Bales and Monique Currie, as well as North Carolina's Erlana Larkins.

Neither team scored in overtime until Currie hit a fadeaway jumper with the shot clock expiring. Terrapins guard Shay Doron, who had injured her elbow in the final minute of regulation, countered with two free throws, and then the two traded baskets again for a 74-74 tie with a minute to play.

Bales, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds, was fouled rebounding a miss from Mistie Williams, but she hit just one of two shots, giving Duke a one-point lead. Toliver's free throws put Maryland ahead, and Duke freshman Abby Waner missed a shot with 15 seconds to play. Coleman, who had 10 points and 14 rebounds for her second double double in three days, hit two more free throws.

It was a sad final game for Currie, who had four of her 22 points in overtime but fell short of the national title that she had hoped for when she opted to come back for a fifth year last season.

Duke had dominated early, leading 38-28 at the half and 45-32 with 15 minutes left in the game. Maryland started chipping away at the lead, with Toliver and Coleman scoring 11 of 13 points to pull within 57-56.

After Maryland took the lead at 59-58 with 5:22 to play, Duke answered and didn't trail again until 34 seconds were left in overtime.

Tuesday marked the fourth meeting between the teams, with Duke winning both games in the regular season and Maryland breaking a 14-game losing streak against the Blue Devils in the ACC tournament semifinals.

[Last modified April 5, 2006, 06:22:32]