After resounding victory, Frese expects even more from women's basketball

It's easy enough to get lost in how complete the Terrapins women's basketball team's victory looked against Georgetown on Sunday. Against a crosstown rival that had topped them on two occasions last year, the Terps outscored, outrebounded, outshot and outdefended the Hoyas as they cruised to a 19-point victory.

For 40 minutes inside Comcast Center, they dominated.

Or did they?

"We challenged our team on how we let down against Georgetown in the last four minutes of the game," coach Brenda Frese said yesterday after seeing her team's late lead shrink from as many as 24 points. "There's a lot of teachable areas for us to improve on."

So even after a season-opening, 38-point victory over Loyola and a 72-53 rout of the No. 14 Hoyas, the No. 10 Terps (2-0) are still a long way from their lofty preseason goals. And with a home matchup tonight against Towson (1-0), seeing any kind of letdown after an impressive showing against Georgetown won't sit well with Frese.

"Towson obviously is a great team," she said. "[It's] a team that's always been a very tough opponent for us. Two years ago [they beat us] up there, and last year, it was a two-point game at halftime. So there's no overlooking any opponent."

The Tigers began their season on a high note, winning Saturday at Western Kentucky by five points. And while the Tigers haven't been historically successful against the Terps, going just 5-11 in the teams' series, recent contests between the two squads haven't been nearly as one-sided.

After not meeting for a 12-year stretch from 1996 to 2008, the Terps and Tigers each have a win in the series in the past two seasons, including a 72-47 Terps victory in College Park last year.

"We have to bring the same energy we brought with Georgetown," forward Tianna Hawkins said. "Towson is a good team, but I think if we stick together like we did with Georgetown, it'll show we're doing good things again."

"Towson is very athletic," Frese said. "We're going to have to be able to handle that within how they play."

Given the Tigers' athleticism, the Terps will again look tonight to improve on their rebounding. Though the team still has one of the game's most dominant frontcourts, having returned most of the unit that finished fifth in the country in rebounding margin last season, the Terps struggled on the glass at times against Georgetown.

Still playing without suspended center Lynetta Kizer, they were outrebounded by the Hoyas in the first half of their Sunday contest. The Terps went on to win the battle on the glass handily in the second half, but their struggles in the first half were cause for concern.

"You have to focus on finding our man to box out and make sure we secure each rebound on each possession," Hawkins said. "If we just stay focused on what we have to do and the things we need to do to be successful in a game, it'll be very positive."

Even after a resounding victory devoid of many negatives, the Terps still have a long road ahead of them. Two wins in two games, at this point in the season, isn't good enough for Frese.

"I hope [Georgetown] gives the team confidence to see when we play like that, how good of a team we can be," Frese said. "But it's the second game of the season. It's early … You got to stay hungry in what you're doing."

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