Seniors see careers come to bitter end

SPOKANE, Wash. -After the Terrapin women's basketball team's 98-87 loss in the Spokane regional final last night, senior forwards Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper sat by themselves in a corner of the Terps' locker room.

The most-decorated members of the most-decorated class in program history, the pair sat consoling each other, trying to grasp the reality that they had just played their last collegiate game.

Neither had just played her best game. They could only will their team so far.

"This is the best team I've ever been on," Harper said through the tears. "This is the best time I've ever had. And it's over."

Langhorne and Harper had led the Terps all season long, but neither was able to establish anything in the low post against the Cardinal.

Stanford made it a point to limit the Terps' inside touches, and Langhorne and Harper were never able to get into an offensive flow.

Langhorne's trademark spin moves weren't getting her where they usually do.

Harper's bullying toughness couldn't get her any closer to the basket.

"They made us work for any shot that we got," coach Brenda Frese said. "They made everything extremely difficult."

Langhorne ended up with 13 points and eight rebounds, and Harper had 10 points and nine rebounds. But in a game in which they allowed 98 points, the Terps needed more out of their interior scorers.

In the locker room, Langhorne and Harper weren't thinking about their struggles against the Cardinal.

They were thinking about the things they had done for their program, and the things that they will never be able to do again.

"I didn't want my career to end, and neither did the rest of the seniors," Langhorne said. "It's never going to be like this anymore."

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