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It's time for the Terrapin women's basketball team to let loose.

The Terps looked a little tight in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament earlier this week, but now that they've hurdled the emotional barrier of getting past the second round, the pressure is not as intense.

The top-seeded Terps (32-3) acknowledged the strain they felt in the first two rounds after being upset in the second round last year. And heading into tomorrow's Spokane Regional semifinal against No. 4-seed Vanderbilt (25-8), the focus can shift from trying not to lose to thinking only about trying to win.

"We're definitely ready to play loose and free," junior guard Kristi Toliver said. "We just want to play as long as we can."

Even as the stakes get higher, the Terps maintain they can just focus on themselves and enjoy the ride from here on out.

But they know they won't have as big a margin for error as in the first two rounds, when they had to fight through some mental lapses and stretches of inconsistent play against Coppin State and Nebraska.

Poor shot selection and occasional slips into token defense will no longer cut it.

"There's only 16 teams left, and we're blessed to be one of them," senior forward Laura Harper said. "We're going to play with a serious sense of urgency."

The Terps headed out to Spokane, Wash., on Wednesday, hoping to allow themselves ample time to acclimate to their surroundings and adjust to the three-hour time difference.

They were ready for a road trip after playing the first two rounds of the tournament at Comcast Center, and the long distance is not an issue.

"We know what it feels like to play everywhere, so it's nothing new," Harper said.

The last time the Terps headed nearly as far west in the postseason was in 2006, when they won the Albuquerque Regional on their way to the program's first-ever national championship.

"I've never been [to Spokane]," Toliver said. "Good things happened the last time we went out West, so I'm not totally opposed to it. It should be exciting. Another place, another game we can hopefully continue to advance in."

The defensive-minded Commodores played in Albuquerque in the past week; they advanced to the sweet 16 with two easy wins in the first two rounds.

They breezed past No. 13-seed Montana 75-47 on Saturday and beat talented No. 5-seed West Virginia 64-46 in the second round on Monday, led by 21 points from leading scorer Christina Wirth.

"I know a couple of players on Vandy, but I don't care who we play, we're just going to be ready," Harper said. "It's that time of year."

That time of year. Time for the Terps to pull it together, and finally time to play in the moment, not worry about what happened in the past.

"We're just happy to be in the sweet 16," senior forward Crystal Langhorne said. "We're pretty excited to be here."

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