Women's basketball opens regular season tomorrow ready to run

Two plain truths about the Terrapin women's basketball team have emerged during its preseason: First, the Terps, as a whole, are in peak physical condition. And second, they aren't willing to waste any time showing it.

In the team's two exhibitions against Gallaudet and District of Columbia, the Terps effectively ran each opponent out of Comcast Center, winning the two games by a combined 124 points.

The question that remains, however, is how well the No. 21 Terps' up-tempo style will translate against a Division I opponent. Tomorrow night, the Terps will get their first look in their season opener against Monmouth.

"Our intention is, until you can stop us, we want to be up-tempo," coach Brenda Frese said. "With our numbers and our depth, we should be able to do that."

While the Hawks — picked to finish fifth in the Northeastern Conference — are not nearly as talented as many of the teams on the Terps' schedule, the Terps appear focused on tomorrow's matchup despite Tuesday's game at No. 13 Georgetown looming.

"We're excited to play; we're excited to get going for real," guard Anjale Barrett said. "This is our first game, so we've got to take care of business on Saturday."

The Hawks will have the unenviable task of dealing with the Terps' depth. While the five players who Frese will send out to start the game tomorrow remain a mystery until then, it's clear the starters will have plenty of help from the bench. The ninth-year coach foresees her team using a 10-player rotation.

Freshman guards Natasha Cloud and Lauren Mincy will likely share time in the backcourt with returners Barrett, Kim Rodgers and Dara Taylor.

Down low, center Lynetta Kizer and forward Diandra Tchatchouang are expected in the team's starting five, while freshmen Alyssa Thomas and Alicia DeVaughn and sophomore Tianna Hawkins will all get their fair share of minutes.

"We've got a lot of bodies, and we can throw waves and waves at people now," Barrett said. "We're just looking [to be] relentless in transition and be real aggressive on offense and defense."

While tomorrow's game doesn't figure prominently in the grand scheme of the Terps' season, it's a chance to finally move on from a disappointing 2010 season.

"We don't even really think about last year," Frese said. "But the sky's the limit, in the sense of our returning players coming back better and our newcomers having such high ceilings."

"I think last season is in the past," Kizer added. "We brought in a whole 'nother new squad and a new mentality, and I think we're gonna be ready from the jump."

If the Terps can continue to run through their regular season the way they did in their preseason, it might not be long before the college basketball world dismisses last season as merely a hiccup in Frese's otherwise decorated tenure.

Their journey back to national prominence begins with the Hawks.

"All the preparation that we've done is for this moment," Frese said. "This team has worked hard, is really hungry and excited to see where we go."

cwalsh@umdbk.com