Feb. 3, 2005
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – After earning her 100th victory as a college coach, Maryland’s Brenda Frese was far more interested in talking about her improving basketball team than reaching a personal milestone.
Shay Doron and Crystal Langhorne each scored 18 points, and the 20th-ranked Terrapins cruised past Georgia Tech 84-67 on Thursday night.
Maryland led by 12 with 11 minutes elapsed, upped the margin to 20 at halftime and breezed through the second half in improving to 10-1 at home. The Terrapins shot 52 percent and had 21 assists compared to only 12 turnovers.
“I thought it was by far one of the most unselfish games we’ve played as a team,” Frese said. “You look at a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, having four players step up and score in double figures, and doing a tremendous job of moving the ball on offense.”
The 34-year-old Frese has a 100-66 record in five-plus seasons. She spent two years at Ball State and one at Minnesota before coming to Maryland, where she’s 43-36.
“Those 100 wins are about the teams that I’ve coached in three different programs. The players, as well as my coaches, get the credit for the wins,” she said. “But obviously I’m very excited to be able to do it at home in front of our great fans. That means a lot.”
Most of her players weren’t aware of the milestone until the fans began holding up signs that said “100” as the game neared its conclusion.
“I didn’t know,” Doron said. “I think she wants to win regardless of 100 or not 100. I don’t think that went through her mind.”
Anesia Smith had 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and Kalika France scored 14 points for the Terrapins (15-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who completed their first regular-season sweep of the Yellow Jackets since the 1997-98 season.
Chioma Nnamaka scored 18 points, and Janie Mitchell had 17 for the Yellow Jackets (12-7, 3-5), who have lost five of seven. The Yellow Jackets committed 12 turnovers and went 8-for-26 from the field in falling behind 42-22 at halftime.
“I didn’t think my that my team showed up in the first half,” Yellow Jackets coach MaChelle Joseph said. “I just didn’t feel like we were ready to play.”
Asked to assess Frese’s influence on the sport, Joseph said, “Brenda has done a tremendous job from the time she started at Ball State. I have nothing but respect for her, her work ethic and her ability to recruit. I see nothing but a bright future for Maryland.”
The Terrapins yielded one basket and forced six turnovers in the opening 6 minutes to take an 8-2 lead. Minutes later, Doron made two straight 3-pointers and added a foul shot to cap an 11-2 run that made it 23-10.
It was 35-22 before France hit a 3-pointer and Langhorne added a layup to start a 7-0 spree into the break.
After Georgia Tech closed to 48-30 in the second half, Langhorne scored five points in an 11-2 surge that put the Terps up by 27 with just over 14 minutes left.
DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
