Posts Tagged ‘Kristi Toliver’

April 1st, 2008 | 02:31 am

A disappointing finish

Well, that sucked.

Just when it looked like we’d all be heading to Tampa next week, the Terrapin women’s basketball season ended here in Spokane on Monday night.

The Terps played well in the 98-87 loss. But Stanford played one of the best games I have ever seen.

Candice Wiggins was ridiculous, scoring 41 points and showing incredible range.

After the game, Crystal Langhorne, Marissa Coleman, Kristi Toliver and Brenda Frese all had tears in their eyes when they walked into the press conference.

Langhorne started sobbing when she answered her first question, and Frese started crying again when Langhorne did.

Langhorne and Laura Harper sat consoling each other in a corner of the Terps’ locker room afterward, and nobody seemed willing to believe that the season was actually over.

After following them so closely for the past several months, it was definitely tough to see it all end.

The Terps had a good run. It’s too bad they couldn’t keep it going for one more week.

schimmeldbk@gmail.com

March 30th, 2008 | 01:24 am

A Big Win, Spokane’s Scenic Route and The Fonz

The Terrapin women’s basketball team dominated Vanderbilt tonight. The consensus among the assortment of media and the Terps themselves was that the 80-66 win was the Terps’ best all-around performance in a very long while.

Kristi Toliver mentioned games against Oklahoma and LSU that were played back in November as the last performances that were similar to this.

After Diamondback photographer Adam Fried and I left the rather generic Spokane Arena after the game, we decided to walk the mile or so back to the hotel instead of wait for a taxi.

It didn’t take long before we were extremely confused about where we were, and we ended up crossing the bridge over a large river, and crossing another bridge farther down going the other way over the river before we found the hotel.

It turned out we made a huge circle around a good chunk of Spokane. The hotel really wasn’t that far from the arena.

We did get to see some pretty nice scenery though, as the rapids in the river were pretty impressive, and since we’re on pacific time, we still made it back before 10 p.m.

And speaking of impressive sightings, there’s a rumor that Henry Winkler, a.k.a The Fonz is in town for reasons unrelated to basketball.

John Willmott of the WMUC radio crew took a picture with Winkler in the airport yesterday, and Fonzi is apparently staying at the same hotel as the Terps.

He is reportedly in town to make an appearance at some sort of show or event with the actor who played Ralph Malph in Happy Days and the actress who played Shirley in Laverne and Shirley.

Spokane is obviously the place to be this weekend.

schimmeldbk@gmail.com

February 7th, 2008 | 01:20 am

Women’s basketball reacts to Virginia Tech scare

This afternoon at the Terrapin women’s basketball team’s first full practice after its too-close-for-comfort overtime win at Virginia Tech on Monday, I separately asked Crystal Langhorne and Kristi Toliver if they had any further comment on Monday’s game after letting it sink in for a couple of days.

Toliver decided to take the “We got a win and that’s all that matters” road, and did so with a straight face, but Langhorne gave a response that was closer to what I was expecting.

“It was just an ugly game,” Langhorne said, shaking her head. “For us to play so bad and still win speaks a lot about our team, but it was very disappointing how we came out and played.”

I half-jokingly told coach Brenda Frese that she missed an exciting game Monday, but the pregnant coach didn’t seem to appreciate my humor.

“I watched it on TV,” Frese said. “That was enough.”

It’s hard to blame the usually-jovial Frese for being a bit irritated today. Frese stopped traveling to all road games more than a month ago, and during home games and practices she is mostly confined to her large computer chair that is brought down from her office. After standing up to give two short interviews after practice today, she decided it would be best to sit down again for a third.

While Frese’s due date is officially March 11, the unofficial word around the team is that labor may be induced by the end of February if she has not delivered by then.

schimmeldbk@gmail.com