You might have heard of Kristi Toliver. You know, the step-back 3-point making, fast breaking All-American point guard for the Terrapin women’s basketball team. Her exploits are well-known, but in today’s 96-79 win against Virginia Tech at the Comcast Center she took her game to a level we hadn’t really seen this season.
In the No. 12 Terps win, Toliver made a career high eight 3-pointers on her way to 29 points, dished out seven assists (including a gorgeous touch pass to forward Dee Liles on the break) and helped carve up the Hokies’ rather generous 2-3 zone.
“I was going out just trying to do whatever it took to make us win,” Toliver said. “I think because we have so many offensive threats, Once we got the feel for their zone, and saw the angles they were cutting off we started swinging the ball and getting open looks.”
And while nobody will ever label the Terps (15-3, 3-1 ACC) as a spectacular defensive squad, Toliver’s performance, along with forward Marissa Coleman’s 21 points and a career-high 14-point contribution from guard Anjale Barrett, was more than enough to waltz past Virginia Tech. (8-9, 0-4 ACC)
But the Terps’ next opponent, undefeated and No. 2-ranked North Carolina, is no Virginia Tech. The Hokies made nine 3-pointers of their own and shot 45 percent from the field. So that begs the question- can the Terps turn up their overall defensive effort enough to seriously challenge the Tar Heels at Comcast next Sunday?
Frese thought the Terps could improve, but she was happy with their effort.
“Our defense [in the second half] was really what got us going into transition,” Frese said. “I don’t think the coach is ever completely happy with the overall defensive effort. I liked the effort and the intensity was there. Obviously, Lindsay Biggs (Tech’s leading scorer) is a very talented player and scored 25 and we would have liked to not allowed that many points.”
We’ll see Sunday night. Carolina has quite an important game in the meantime, against No. 1 Connecticut on Monday night, which will give the Terps a good look at what they’ll be facing.
akrautdbk@gmail.com