All due respect

They just don't miss. Brenda Frese's women seem to sink all their shots, and it's a shame only for The Diamondback photographers who can't catch the best action shots of players rebounding. But in spite of its red-hot play, the team has failed to capture imaginations on campus. The fact that the Terps are ranked third in the nation with a record of 21-1 has been noticed by seemingly everyone but the student body.

The women are playing the No. 2-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels at home this Sunday, in what is sure to be the biggest home game of the season to this point. Tickets for the game are already sold out, the first time that this has ever occurred for womens' basketball at the Comcast Center. In fact, this Sunday will be the first time when the ticketing system that is used for men's basketball will be applied to a women's game.

Still, this doesn't necessarily represent a surge of interest among students. As of press time, average attendance is 6,263 fans. This leaves more than 10,000 empty seats at Comcast for every home game - many of which could be filled by students.

The lack of student interest in this team is perplexing. Consider the circumstances of last year's UNC games - which should be enough to garner excitement this time around. Ashleigh Newman's end-of-regulation heroics last year, UNC's ACC championship win over the Terps and last season's final four game were all exhilarating. If it were men playing, it would be the kind of match-up to inspire mythic anticipation.

In most cases, success is a fail-safe way to inspire attention, respect and pride among followers. Right now, the unstoppable freight train that is the women's basketball team is an unqualified success. One could point to any number of reasons why there is still a deficit of support for the womens' team. For example, there might exist a notion that basketball is inherently less valuable when women are playing instead of men. This and all other rationalizations ring hollow - the women have played with flash and grit that any basketball player should be proud of.

Now is the moment for students to rally around the team. A victory over UNC would give the needed momentum to continue the push toward March Madness. For the past two years, the women have done everything possible to merit our support, and is high time that we collectively return the favor.