No. 21 Maryland Pulls Away To Beat Towson 72-47
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Playing without a senior on the roster, No. 21 Maryland can't rely upon its experience to win at this point in the season.
So the Terrapins must depend on depth, height and agility. Against Towson on Thursday night, that was quite enough.
Diandra Tchatchouang had 12 points and nine rebounds, Alyssa Thomas and Tianna Hawkins each scored 10, and Maryland never trailed in a 72-45 victory.
Although the final score would indicate the game was a blowout, the Terrapins (2-1) led 35-33 with just over 15 minutes left before finally pulling away.
"You can see our growing pains," coach Brenda Frese said with a heavy sigh. "We're still as a team trying to grow and develop together."
Maryland's height and quickness eventually proved too much for Towson (1-2) to handle. The Terps finished with 45-24 rebounding advantage, had 17 steals and forced a whopping 28 turnovers.
"I think you see a group that's going to develop and improve," Tigers coach Joe Mathews said of Maryland. "I think this is a different team than Brenda's ever really had. I know the national championship team (in 2006) was extremely talented and had different pieces. This group is athletic and big and physical, and really understands how to rebound the basketball.
"She's going to have a lot of fun coaching this group," Mathews added. "They're no fun to play against."
The win was doubly satisfying for the Terrapins because it came on the heels of an eight-point loss to No. 13 Georgetown and provided a measure of revenge for a 67-55 defeat at Towson last season.
Frese acknowledged that she thought about that loss to Towson several times in the days leading up to this game. But soon after the opening tip her focus turned toward getting her team back on track after a slow start.
"I thought the first half we came out really flat," Frese said. "But in the second half we were finally able to use to our advantage our depth and length to wear down Towson."
Deree Fooks scored 13 and Krystal Parnell had nine points for the Tigers.
Towson managed to stay within striking distance until a 9-0 Maryland run made it 44-33 with 11:16 left.
Laurin Mincy started the decisive spurt with a 3-pointer. Thomas and Tchatchouang added layups, and Thomas gave the Terrapins their first double-digit lead with a runner in the lane.
"The first 25 minutes I was happy with," Mathews said. "The last 15 minutes, they took over."
Eight different players scored for Maryland during a sloppy first half that ended with the Terrapins up 29-26. The teams combined for 24 baskets and 25 turnovers, including 13 by the Tigers.
Maryland built a 21-15 lead thanks largely to an 18-7 rebounding advantage. But Towson stayed close behind with Fooks scoring eight points on 4-for-8 shooting.
