Women's basketball rolls against UDC in final exhibition

The first three minutes of the Terrapin women's final exhibition underscored a presumption that now seems a certainty: Freshmen will contribute early and often in helping guide the Terps back to the NCAA Tournament.

Freshman Alyssa Thomas scored the first nine points for the No. 21 Terps, who never trailed against Division II District of Columbia in a 121-50 romp yesterday at Comcast Center.

Thomas, the top-rated recruit of the team's touted five freshman, finished with 20 points in 16 minutes of action, shooting more than 50 percent from the field after a 4-for-12 shooting performance against Gallaudet on Nov. 2.

"I thought Alyssa came ready to play from the tip, and that's contagious among any team when you have players that bring tremendous energy like Alyssa does," coach Brenda Frese said. "You see how she can impact the game in so many different areas."

The lopsided affair seemed like a scoring clinic at times for the Terps, who pushed the ball at a frenetic pace and held the Firebirds to 25.8 percent shooting from the field.

Along with Thomas, freshman Alicia DeVaughn (11 points), Laurin Mincy (10 points) and Natasha Cloud (17 points) all played at least 16 minutes and were among seven Terps to reach double-digit scoring.

"These are [the freshmen's] first two games that they've put on a Maryland uniform," Frese said. "I think they've shown that they belong early, and I think you can see that they're going to be counted on for a lot."

Turnovers, one of the fatal flaws from last year's squad, again plagued the Terrapins. The team had an alarming 24 turnovers, including four from forward Diandra Tchatchouang and guard Dara Taylor.

"We talked about that in the locker room — an area that we absolutely feel like we have to improve on, something that we weren't satisfied on," Frese said of the turnovers. "But you know, I do think a lot of those turnovers came with an attack mentality and being aggressive in our transition."

Starting center Lynetta Kizer remained planted on the bench until more than five minutes into the second half, allowing Frese the opportunity to continue to evaluate the team's rotations. But when she entered, the junior showed the Terps just what they might have been missing, pouring in 18 points in nine minutes of action, fully illustrating her physical, aggressive style of play.

After a 52-point effort in the first half, the Terps put up a staggering 69 points in the second. Either tally alone would have topped the Firebirds' final total of 50.

The Terps open the regular season against Monmouth on Saturday at Comcast Center, a game that will likely serve as a tune-up for the team's Nov. 16 showdown at No. 13 Georgetown.

^{castello@umdbk.com}