Women's basketball looking to push winning streak to seven

For nearly 35 minutes of last Thursday's game at Purdue, the Terrapin women's basketball team searched for answers in a hostile Mackey Arena.

As the Boilermakers capped a 9-2 run with just more than five minutes left on the clock, it seemed the No. 22 Terps' chances to nab a key nonconference road victory had all but slipped away.

But after the team's emotional leader, center Lynetta Kizer, challenged them to raise their intensity, the Terps responded, scoring 14 of the game's final 16 points to stun the Boilermakers with a 56-55 comeback victory.

"Lynetta Kizer and her leadership had them believing that they could win this game," coach Brenda Frese said. "I know how competitive this team is, and this is definitely something we can continue to draw upon."

The Terps (7-1) certainly seemed to capitalize on the win's momentum when they hosted Appalachian State on Sunday. In a game that could easily have turned into a trap game given the team's emotional hangover, the Terps managed to withstand a sloppy first half before outscoring the Mountaineers by 15 points in the second to record their sixth straight victory.

Mental toughness will again be paramount tonight, when the Terps travel to Baltimore to face another middling opponent in Loyola.

"Right now, with such quick turnarounds in the middle of all the work academically, it's all about staying fresh," Frese said, referencing the added stresses for her team as the semester draws to a close. "This is an intense time for a student-athlete."

It may have been those late-semester stresses that produced one of the Terps' biggest blemishes last season, when they rode a five-game winning streak up to Towson last December only to be upset by the Tigers.

"With six games remaining before ACC play, we're trying to fine-tune things," Frese said. "We're focused on playing with the intensity level that we did [in the final five minutes] at Purdue for 40 minutes."

The Terps might not even need a flawless start-to-finish performance tonight to come out victorious for a seventh straight time. The Greyhounds are a pedestrian 2-5, and in their two games against major conference opponents — No. 9 West Virginia and Pittsburgh — they have been outscored by a combined 59 points.

The real danger for the Terps (7-1) could be looking ahead to future tests, such as a possible meeting with No. 20 St. John's in the championship game of December's Terrapin Classic as well as the start of ACC play.

If the Terps can take care of business, Frese said, tonight's game will serve as another opportunity for the team to work out its kinks as it heads toward a future that likely poses far greater danger on the court than the present.

"Obviously, road wins are critical to your success," Frese said. "We're just trying to grow and mold together within our rotations right now. We're still searching together in terms of our identity."

cwalsh@umdbk.com