Terps' height too much for visiting Loyola (Md.) to handle in 69-56 win

Loyola (Md.) guard Erica DiClemente set her box out perfectly. She squared her hips to the basket and prepared to snag a defensive rebound as Terrapin guard Kim Rodgers' shot clanked off the iron.

But in basketball, even perfect form can be rendered useless when physical advantages are so lopsided. Terp center Lynetta Kizer used her thick 6-foot-4 frame to outmuscle and outleap the 5-foot-11 DiClemente, ripping down the board and restarting the Terp offense. Forward Diandra Tchatchouang's jump shot seconds later extended the Terps' lead to 10 at the beginning of the second half.

The Terps did not play at a significantly higher level than the Greyhounds yesterday. They turned the ball over 19 times, fouled heavily and settled too often for jump shots. But Loyola (3-5) was unable to match the Terps (8-1) in size and athleticism — few can — and the Greyhounds became the 44th straight visiting team to leave Comcast Center with a loss, 69-56.

Still, aside from freshmen Tchatchouang and Tianna Hawkins, who combined for 42 points and 17 rebounds, the Terps shot 30.5 percent from the field. They were missing much of the physicality shown Thursday against Minnesota, settling too often for jumpers and allowing 12 offensive rebounds to a team with no rotation player taller than 6-foot-1.

"There's a lot of concerns from this game," coach Brenda Frese said. "Luckily, we were playing at home today. I told them, if we were playing on the road, it could have been a bad outcome."

Height was most responsible for bailing the Terps out. The advantage was tangible, be it as 6-foot-7 center Essence Townsend stretched her long limbs wide while defending 6-foot Loyola forward Meredith Tolley or as Hawkins went up for a layup, missed and bounded back up for a rebound and put-back near the end of the first half.

Even as Kizer was limited to 18 minutes while nursing an ankle injury, the Terps outrebounded Loyola 50-32, including 20 on the offensive end.

The 6-foot-3 Hawkins, who played just eight minutes against Minnesota, best utilized the advantage, throwing around Greyhound defenders and attacking the basket with voracity. She scored 16 of her 22 points in the second half, coming off the bench to play a major role in putting away the pesky Greyhounds.

"I felt like it was my time to come in and attack [the basket]," Hawkins said. "I felt more confident. It's like it's all coming to me."

No Greyhound could compete. Loyola shot just 33.3 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from three-point range, both missing open jumpers and struggling with the Terps' size. Two of Loyola's top three scorers, Miriam McKenzie and Tolley, finished a combined 3-of-23 from the field.

Still, Loyola kept the game relatively close, never trailing by more than 20 and providing another noticeable chink in the Terps' armor this season. Last year, Maryland dogged the Greyhounds in an 83-52 blowout.

The Terps are still trying to find their identity, though it increasingly appears to be located underneath the basket. The Terps' 36 points in the paint were indicative of their biggest advantage, height. With five players 6-foot-3 or taller, the Terps create matchup problems in the paint.

Against a team such as Loyola, those advantages, combined with a potent shooting performance from Tchatchouang, are enough to make the difference. But Frese knows there are issues to be ironed out in the next month before ACC play begins.

"I'm disappointed with our game, collectively," the eighth-year Terp coach said. "I thought we played in spurts. … When you see this team outmatch a very physical Minnesota team and the physicality we played with in that game, to watch us in this game not be as aggressive and not as physical was very disappointing."

ajoseph@umdbk.com