Terps will try to rebound from disappointing season

As the Terrapin women's basketball regular season is set to begin Friday against Princeton, here are five questions for the No. 4 Terps as they go after their second national championship in three seasons.

1. How will the Terps bounce back from last season's disappointing finish? The Terps admitted feeling the pressure last season that came with returning all five starters from the 2006 national championship team. After finishing the regular season 26-4, the Terps lost in the semifinals of the ACC tournament 78-72 to North Carolina, and were upset by seventh-seeded Mississippi 89-78 in the second round of the NCAA tournament, abruptly ending their season. "If we wouldn't have won a national championship last year, even if we had lost in the sweet 16 or the final four, it still would have been disappointing," junior forward Marissa Coleman said. "It was a learning experience. We know what it takes to win, and obviously we know what it takes not to get back to that point." Four starters from the championship team remain - senior center Crystal Langhorne, senior forward Laura Harper, junior guard Kristi Toliver and Coleman - meaning a deep run in the NCAA tournament will be expected.

2. Will the Terps be able to replace Shay Doron? Doron, the only starter from the past two seasons to graduate, was drafted by the WNBA's New York Liberty in April. The emotional leader for the Terps the past two seasons, Doron averaged double figures in scoring in each of her four seasons, and was arguably the most recognizable Terp around the campus. "You can't replace a Shay Doron," Harper said. "Emotionally, physically, no one can replace Shay." While it will take a team effort to make up for Doron's lost production, look for freshman guard Marah Strickland to play the most tangible role in filling that void. Strickland played well starting in Doron's off-guard spot in the Terps' 90-73 exhibition loss to the USA Basketball National Team.

3. Will the Terps go undefeated in nonconference play again? After the Terps ran the table in nonconference regular season play last year, the Terps will face four nonconference opponents in the first month of this season that are in the AP preseason Top 25 poll. The Terps will play nationally televised games against No. 6 Oklahoma in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Nov. 11 and at No. 3 Rutgers in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 3. They will also face No. 20 Pittsburgh and No. 16 Ohio State in home games on Nov. 27 and Nov. 30, respectively. "We really wanted to challenge ourselves with our schedule this year," head coach Brenda Frese said.

4. Will the Terps get at least one win against Duke or North Carolina? The Terps went a combined 0-4 against their two biggest rivals last season, including an 81-62 loss to Duke on Jan. 13 that ended the Terps' 24-game winning streak that dated back to the previous season, and a 78-72 loss to North Carolina in the ACC tournament semifinals. The Tar Heels and Blue Devils are ranked No. 8 and No. 10, respectively, but each lost well-known players who played big roles in the rivalries' recent histories. Fiery guard Ivory Latta is no longer with the Tar Heels, and guard Lindsey Harding and 6-foot-7-inch center Alison Bales are gone from the Blue Devils. Big names like Erlana Larkins for North Carolina and Abby Waner for Duke still remain, so these games will still be worth watching. The Terps play the Blue Devils at home on Jan. 14before traveling to Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels on Jan. 26, and then to Durham to face Duke again on Feb. 17.

5. How will Frese coach as her pregnancy progresses? Frese announced to her team in August that she is pregnant with twins, and she is due March 11. While one would suspect she won't be able to coach in a full capacity for the entire season, Frese has not specifically said what she will do as the due date approaches. During the exhibition game against the national team Wednesday, Frese sat in a computer chair in her spot at the front of the bench, but like always she stood up and yelled at times. First-year assistant coaches Daron Park and Diane Richardson, and sixth-year assistant Erica Floyd will presumably have an increased role later in the season. Park will be relied on the most during games and in practice. "He's the best basketball mind that we've had in here," Frese said. schimmeldbk@gmail.com