No. 11 Maryland Beats No. 10 Georgetown 72-53
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Georgetown won't win too many games in which Sugar Rodgers makes only one basket. That much is evident.
What wasn't so clear is whether Rodgers was simply shot poorly, or whether No. 11 Maryland hounded the junior guard into repeatedly misfiring in a 72-53 rout of the 10th-ranked Hoyas on Sunday.
The game was a rematch of a second-round NCAA tournament matchup in which Rodgers scored 34 points in Georgetown's 79-57 win over the Terrapins.
In this one, Rodgers went 1 for 12 from the floor before fouling out with 20.4 seconds left. She missed her first seven shots and was held scoreless until making her only basket, a layup with 8:08 remaining.
"I just had a bad shooting night," Rodgers said.
Maryland sophomore guard Laurin Mincy spent most of the game hounding Rodgers, getting relief only briefly from Kim Rodgers.
"I thought the defense of Laurin and Kim, and the rotations we had defensively, they were tremendous," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "They made her have to work for every shot she took."
Georgetown coach Terri Williams-Flournoy saw it differently.
"I think they did an OK job on Sugar," she said. "I think Sugar just had an off night. Sugar missed free throws. Sugar Rodgers never misses free throws."
Alyssa Thomas had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Tianna Hawkins contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Terrapins (2-0), who never trailed. Maryland turned a 34-26 halftime lead into a 16-point cushion with 12 minutes left and coasted to the finish.
Tia Magee led Georgetown (1-1) with 17 points and Rubylee Wright had 13. The Hoyas did a whole lot of gloating after their NCAA win last season, but Maryland refused to return the favor Sunday.
"Of course they were talking, but we let our actions speak on the court for us today," Thomas said. "They can do what they do, but we do what we do."
Despite the loss, Williams-Flournoy said, "I don't know if there so much that we have to improve on. We press well. Maryland handled that well. Sugar won't have these type of nights. It just won't happen. A lot of things that happened, they just won't continue to happen."
Maryland led 46-36 before Hawkins made a free throw, Thomas hit a jumper and Kim Rodgers buried a 3-pointer to make it 52-36. Minutes later, Hawkins hit a jumper and Mincy connected from long range to put the Terps up by 20.
Afterward, the Terrapins looked forward instead of glancing back at last year's losses against Georgetown.
"The big thing for us is this is a new season and a new team, and they're creating their identity," Frese said. "We want to
build on this."
Hawkins scored nine points, Thomas and Alicia DeVaughn each had eight, and the Terrapins forced 12 turnovers in taking a 34-26 halftime lead.
Maryland opened with a tight man-to-man defense in which Mincy tirelessly shadowed Rodgers from baseline to baseline and helped the Terrapins go up 12-6 early in the game.
Rodgers picked up her second foul with 12:18 left in the half and took a seat. The Hoyas did just fine without her, getting five points from Wright in a 10-3 run that cut the deficit to 20-19. Minutes later, Maryland scored four straight baskets for a 30-21 lead. Upon her return, Rodgers missed two free throws and a layup in the final three minutes.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
