With Thomas back, so is women's basketball

Seconds after the opening tip in Comcast Center last night, Alyssa Thomas took a pass on the left wing from point guard Anjale Barrett, dribbled twice, split two defenders in the lane and floated in an easy layup.

Just like that, order was restored for the Terrapins women's basketball team.

After sitting out last week's upset loss to Virginia Tech with a sprained left thumb, Thomas returned in triumphant fashion last night against Boston College. Fueled in part by their star's return, the No. 9 Terps embarrassed the last-place Eagles, ending their two-game skid with an 86-44 victory.

"First and foremost, the energy [Thomas] brings gives our team great confidence when she's on the floor," coach Brenda Frese said. "You know she's going to go hard every possession. Defensively, offensively, the way she's going to rebound the basketball — obviously a critical piece for us."

Though she wore a small brace to protect her injured shooting hand, nothing would slow down Thomas in her torrid return to the Terps' (19-3, 6-3 ACC) lineup. The star forward showed no ill effects from her one-game absence, posting 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists in just 19 minutes while shooting nearly 55 percent from the floor.

"[My thumb] felt really good. It didn't seem to bother me out there," Thomas said. "It just felt good to be back on the court with my team."

"She brings so much to our team," said guard Laurin Mincy, who finished with 13 points, equaling Boston College's first-half output. "She brings a lot of energy, she picks us up. When she's doing her thing, we just follow her lead, so it was good having her [back]."

Any chance the Eagles (5-17, 0-9) had at upending the Terps was dispelled just five minutes in. After a 3-pointer from Kat Cooper cut its deficit to three points at the 15-minute mark, Boston College went ice-cold from the field, making just one more field goal before halftime.

The Terps held the Eagles to a mere three points in that stretch, entering the break in the midst of a 38-3 run.

"The first half was by far the most inspired, best effort and intensity that we've given up to date," Frese said. "For this team, this season, that was one of the most dominating first halves we've had. It's encouraging. If we can start putting together 40 minutes like that, that's a scary thought."

Holding a 38-point lead exiting the locker room, Frese gave her bench extended run in the second half and allowed the starting five ample rest over the game's final 20 minutes.

The second unit didn't disappoint. Led by guards Brene Moseley (16 points) and Sequoia Austin (seven points), the Terps' bench accounted for 44 of the team's 86 points and tied Boston College's total scoring output, keeping the hapless Eagles well in the rearview mirror as the Terps cruised to their biggest ACC victory since Jan. 6, 2008, a span of 70 games.

"To be able to reward [the reserves] with their play tonight was encouraging," Frese said. "I like when we can play our bench and show our depth."

As effective as the Terps' offense was, their defense was arguably better. The Eagles shot a paltry 21 percent from the field in the game and worse than 13 percent in the first half.

"We were really locked in," Frese said. "Our ball pressure was really good, our help-side defense was tremendous, we communicated really well. … We took pride in terms of making them take difficult shots."

With losses in three of their past five entering last night's game, a blowout victory was a welcome development for the Terps.

Having Thomas back on the court didn't hurt, either.

"I thought we were extremely inspired and played really hard," Frese said. "It showed a lot of character from our last time out."

vitale@umdbk.com