Women's basketball seeking revenge for surprising 2009 loss against Towson tonight

The Terrapin women's basketball team traveled north to play Towson last December with the confidence of an 8-1 record, a five-game winning streak and a perfect record against its in-state rival that had lasted more than a quarter of a century.

But the Terps were never able to find their footing against the Tigers, falling at Towson Center Arena, 67-55, in what was the first blemish on a substandard NCAA Tournament resumé that eventually sent them to the WNIT for the first time since 2002.

Tonight, the No. 21 Terps have their first chance to redeem the surprising loss to Towson when the Tigers travel to Comcast Center.

And while coach Brenda Frese downplayed tonight's game as "only the third game of the season," there's little doubt the Terps will be out for revenge.

"For us, it's all about, ‘Are we improving?'" Frese said. "This game won't make or break either team's season."

After Tuesday's loss at No. 13 Georgetown, the Terps hope they can answer Frese's question with an emphatic affirmative. While the team was in a position to steal the game from the Hoyas until the final minute of the game, they failed to finish, turning the ball over 29 times and shooting a dismal 17.5 percent from the field.

Their defeat at Georgetown, though a relatively stiffer test in terms of talent, had striking similarities to last season's loss to the Tigers, with both games hampered by poor execution and turnovers. Against Towson, the Terps shot 34.4 percent from the field and recorded 18 turnovers.

Tonight, the Terps have a chance to put both setbacks behind them.

"[Turnovers] are something that we address a lot," Frese said. "We're still getting used to each other."

The unfamiliarity has become particularly evident in the Terps' lauded freshman class. As a whole, the newcomers have been impressive, with moments of brilliance that have ably demonstrated why Frese brought them to College Park in the first place.

But they have also been inconsistent. For every notable play the young Terps made against the Hoyas, there was another that was equally forgettable.

"I thought they did some great things [against Georgetown]," Frese said of her freshmen. "But at times, they played like freshmen."

Frese has shown confidence in the class, even playing forward Alyssa Thomas, center Alicia DeVaughn and guards Laurin Mincy and Natasha Cloud together for a second-half stretch against the Hoyas.

Tonight, she hopes to see her faith in the team rewarded.

"Obviously, as poorly as we played, the silver lining is that we had a chance because of our effort," Frese said. "From a mental standpoint, we had a lot of breakdowns. But those are correctable."

cwalsh@umdbk.com