Mincy leads women's basketball in season-opening win vs. Monmouth

Laurin Mincy is used to being out on the floor for the opening tip-off.

But beginning her first career game for the Terrapin women's basketball team on the bench didn't seem to affect the 2010 McDonald's All-American, as she shined for the Terps in her substitute role en route to a decisive season-opening victory over Monmouth at Comcast Center on Saturday.

Mincy, a member of the nation's No. 2 recruiting class, led the Terps with 15 points in just 17 minutes as the team eased past the Hawks, 73-40.

"I thought Laurin was sensational tonight," coach Brenda Frese said. "She played with a lot of confidence, shot the ball extremely well, ... [and I] loved how she defended."

Mincy's well-rounded effort was emblematic of the Terps' season-opening victory. Within the first eight minutes of the game, the No. 21 Terps were able to eliminate any thought of a Monmouth upset. After trading buckets on the first two possessions, the Terps converted on forced turnovers and ran the floor in transition, scoring 22 straight points to jump out to a commanding 24-2 lead.

And even after seeming to lose some of their tenacity through the rest of the first half, the Terps again put it to the Hawks in the second half.

"I thought we had some lulls in the first half," Frese said. "Our intensity level went down; we didn't sustain it. But it is tremendous in the fact that you can challenge this team at halftime and they absolutely will respond."

The Terps made it clear early that they were going to take advantage of their depth and fitness. They sought transition baskets throughout the game, starting with Alyssa Thomas' layup just five seconds into the game and continuing to the final whistle. Ten Terps saw 14 minutes or more in the game, realizing Frese's goal of "sending waves" at opponents.

"It's critical to our success because then you can wear teams down," Frese said of her team's depth.

That was certainly the case on the boards. After out-rebounding the Hawks by only three in the first half, the Terps responded with a 28-12 advantage after intermission. They recorded 40 points in the paint and 20 second-chance points, compared to a mere two by the Hawks.

Perhaps the most impressive improvement by the Terps in Saturday's game was their work from the free-throw line. After shooting less than 65 percent from the stripe through their two exhibition games, the Terps emphasized improvement heading into their season opener. They were up to the task, going perfect from the line in the first half and 90.5 percent for the game.

"As a team, we did a phenomenal job in meeting the goals that Coach Frese set for us today," Mincy said.

So while the Terps may still have improvements to make and a starting five to iron out before Tuesday's game at No. 13 Georgetown, one thing remains clear: Relentless pressure — on both ends of the floor — isn't going to be a passing trend for Mincy and the Terps.

"We hope that, as we continue to play [throughout] this season, we're going to be able to wear opponents down," Frese said. "You can see, obviously, that this is going to be a fun team to coach."

cwalsh@umdbk.com