Women's basketball uses early run to pummel American

Within the first 10 minutes of yesterday's game against American, the Terrapin women's basketball team had made its intentions clear: The Eagles would not stand a chance.

After suffering through a flat first half in Thursday's often-lethargic win over Towson, the No. 21 Terps (3-1) sprinted out to a 25-5 lead midway through the first half and never trailed en route to a 78-52 victory at Comcast Center.

"We wanted to have a lot of energy. I thought they came out really inspired," said coach Brenda Frese, who notched her 200th career victory yesterday. "What sparked it was our transition game. I thought we did a great job in really being up-tempo."

Frese tinkered with her starting lineup for the first time in the regular season yesterday, inserting freshman Natasha Cloud into the starting five.

The move paid off early, as Cloud led the early charge in a game during which she finished with seven assists to go along with four points.

For a position that has been in flux for the Terps for more than a year, it was likely a welcome sight to see Cloud's play supplemented with reserve guard Dara Taylor's second straight strong showing. Taylor's energy helped maintain the Terps' intensity as they continued to pull away from the middling Eagles.

Once Cloud or Taylor found a teammate, the Terps knew what to do with it. They shot over 50 percent from the field, and 11 Terps — including local walk-on guard Sequoia Austin, whose second-half 3-pointer was her first field goal as a Terp — got in on the scoring.

"I thought we absolutely had a better effort across the board," Frese said. "I thought our depth was able to wear out American."

The Terps, whose length might be their strongest attribute, continued to dominate down low yesterday. They finished with 46 points in the paint, compared to American's 18, and won the rebounding battle, 40-29.

"They're big and long, but they can move," Eagle coach Matt Corkery said of the Terps. "Usually, when we see big and long, we don't see the quickness and the explosiveness."

Forward Alyssa Thomas (16 points) and center Lynetta Kizer (12 points) each pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Terps.

"Anytime we go out there, we're trying to crash the boards and just get rebounds," Thomas said.

Junior guard Anjale Barrett also chipped in with nine points on three of four shooting from behind the arc, which has been a weakness for the Terps to this point in the season.

Her second 3-pointer ended a seven-point Eagle run late in the first half, effectively quelling any comeback thoughts.

The win marked the end of a stretch of four games in nine days to start the season. The Terps will now be able to take a breather before heading down to the East Carolina Thanksgiving Tournament next weekend, where they'll have to deal with East Carolina and Massachusetts on Friday and Saturday.

"I think you're really starting to see us come together as a team," Frese said.

cwalsh@umdbk.com