All season long, the Terrapin women's basketball team has turned to center Lynetta Kizer and forward Alyssa Thomas to pace one of the nation's most dominant frontlines.
Yesterday, the ACC recognized the team's dynamic one-two punch when it announced its all-conference honorees, as voted on by media members and school representatives. After helping lead the No. 13 Terps (23-6, 9-5 ACC) to the fourth seed in this week's ACC Tournament, both Kizer and Thomas were named to the All-ACC second team.
Kizer's honor marked her second straight All-ACC selection and her third time being honored by the league. After winning the conference's Rookie of the Year award in 2009, Kizer earned a spot on the All-ACC third team last season.
Thomas leads all conference freshmen in scoring and rebounding and is the first freshman to be named to the league's first or second team since former Terp forward Marissa Coleman in 2006.
"First and foremost, a tremendous honor for our team," coach Brenda Frese said. "Those individual accolades don't happen if you don't have great selflessness from your teammates."
DEEP TURNAROUND
What a difference a week can make.
On Feb. 20, the Terps dropped an ugly contest to No. 14 Florida State due largely to an inability to shoot from the perimeter.
The Seminoles clogged the paint, making it difficult for the Terps to find their go-to scorers in the post and forcing them to beat collapsing zone defenses from outside.
The Terps couldn't, and as a result, Virginia Tech and Boston College took similar approaches in their two games last week, daring the Terps to shoot from beyond the arc.
On Feb. 24, against the Hokies, freshman guard Laurin Mincy stepped up and knocked down four 3-pointers to open up the lane and spark the victory.
In Chestnut Hill, Mass., it was the Terps' veteran guards, Anjale Barrett and Kim Rodgers, who took charge. The junior duo combined to shoot 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and forced the Eagles to defend the perimeter.
"We felt like they were going to go to a zone early," Frese said following Sunday's 78-69 victory. "It was huge … shooting the ball with confidence."
After the Seminoles' successful zone defense, it's possible the Terps could see more of the same at the ACC Tournament. And players know a performance from 3-point range like those against Virginia Tech and Boston College will be crucial in their efforts to win the program's 10th ACC title.
"Anytime you can hit a shot and take a team out of what they want to do," Rodgers said, "it gives the whole team confidence."
UP FOR GRABS
Warranted or not, the ACC Tournament nearly always tips off with a clear favorite to take home the hardware.
This season, that's simply not the case. The ACC boasts five teams ranked in the top 20 nationally and an upper echelon deeper than Frese has ever seen.
"I haven't seen the kind of parity that we've seen this year," Frese said. "I think it's wide open this year, in terms of not having a true favorite."
While No. 9 Duke will arrive in Greensboro as the top seed, the Blue Devils — who suffered a 22-point defeat against the fourth-seeded Terps on Feb. 17 — appear more vulnerable than conference regular-season champion of years past.
No. 2 seed Miami and No. 3 seed Florida State, meanwhile, round out the top four seeds, but neither has beaten Duke.
And with dark horses Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Boston College all capable of runs at the tournament title, it's anybody's guess as to how things shake out starting tomorrow.
"It has the potential to be one of the best tournaments in ACC history," Georgia Tech coach MaChelle Joseph said in a teleconference yesterday. "There's seven teams that could challenge for the title. It comes down to the depth of your team."
cwalsh@umdbk.com
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