There won’t be an easy answer to the offensive quagmire created by the departures of Terrapin women’s basketball stars Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver.
Toliver wrapped up her collegiate career in second place in ACC history in assists and third in 3-point field goals. Coleman finished second all-time in scoring and rebounding in Terp history. Together, they won an ACC regular season championship, an ACC Tournament Championship and a National Championship.
Needless to say, their career marks sit in a different stratosphere from what any of the players on this season’s team have reached. Still, last night’s glimpse of what may come from some of their replacements in the team’s 90-48 exhibition romp over Bowie State had coach Brenda Frese more focused on the team’s future than the players the Terps were missing from years past.
“A key for us was just seeing so many players come out and play with the confidence that they did,” Frese said. “That’s what we’re going to have to be able to have throughout the course of the season.”
As expected, the scoring came from an array of unknown players.
Freshman forward Tianna Hawkins had six straight points to key an 18-2 run to close out the first half, providing the Terps a 48-21 lead. Hawkins showed off a refined and versatile game highlighted by a soft baseline jumper and a nose for the net inside the paint.
“Obviously, she was ready to play from the tip,” Frese said. “The thing I think about from Tianna’s end is just the versatility. ... I’m just very, very proud of her effort.”
“I was nervous, but once I got that aside and just played the game, it all came,” said Hawkins, who made her first five shots and finished with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Hawkins wasn’t the only one ahead of the curve last night. After an offseason knee surgery to Kim Rodgers left Frese wondering whether her sophomore guard would actually be healthy enough for the start of the season, Rodgers showed she could still get up and down the court.
In only 16 minutes of action, Rodgers poured in 18 points, including four 3-pointers.
“We’ve all had to take on our different roles and everybody’s had to become leaders, not just one person,” Rodgers said. “The whole team has to fill in for each other and make sure we’re all on the same page.”
Even if it was only a glorified scrimmage, there might not have been a player more eager to finally take the floor at Comcast Center than Lori Bjork. The senior guard, who sat out last season after transferring from Illinois, certainly wasn’t gun-shy in the opening minutes.
Bjork led the team in shots and 3-point attempts at the half and finished with 10 points.
“I was thinking today about how you go through a whole year where you don’t ever get that anticipation of game day and how much I miss that,” Bjork said. “Just the excitement of finally getting to play under the lights — it’s been a long time coming, so I enjoyed it.”
shaffer@umdbk.com
Log in to be able to post comments.