WASHINGTON — Quick: Which D.C. area college basketball team is the best?
Sure, Georgetown has been ranked much of the year. So have the Maryland men, who got off to a flying start in their first Big 10 season before a couple of tough road losses. GW has a shot to make it back to the Tournament. A little outside the DMV, VCU is still ranked despite tough injuries; same with Virginia.
But one team has been steadily rising through the ranks, never dropping lower than number 15 and currently holding down the number five spot in the nation in both the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll. At 21-2 and a perfect 12-0 in the Big 10, the Maryland Women are serving notice that last year’s Final Four run was no fluke, and that they have their eyes on a return trip to the sport’s premiere stage.
Coach Brenda Frese lost five seniors including three starters from that team — one of which was All-American and leading scorer in program history Alyssa Thomas — a scenario that almost screams for a rebuilding year. With a starting lineup featuring a trio of sophomores, Frese knew her players would have to learn from their mistakes on the fly.
“It was my number-one concern coming in, after we lost so much experience,” she said of her young team. “We knew we were going to have a young roster, and we were going to have to rely on each other.”
The Terrapins rolled through the early part of their schedule in the D.C. area and won their first game at the San Juan Shootout before being stunned by Washington State, 70-64. Five days later, they entered a rematch with Notre Dame, the team that ended their season last year. They were never in the game, trailing by 20 at the half and losing by the same margin.
“We hadn’t really formed our identity yet, and those were two tough losses at that point of the year,” said Frese. “But it really brought our team together.”
Maryland hasn’t lost in over two months since then, racking up 15 straight wins to open up a two-game conference lead. The Terps face number-18 Rutgers at home Tuesday in a matchup of the two teams with the longest conference winning streaks. The Scarlet Knights have won six straight Big 10 affairs and eight of nine, their lone defeat being a 71-59 loss at home to Maryland on Jan. 15.
On Sunday, Maryland slogged through a stagnant, sloppy game with number-18 Nebraska in which they let themselves get dragged into a slower pace. With the fourth-ranked scoring offense in the country entering the game at 83.4 points per game, the Terps scored just 29 first-half points, leading by five at the break.
Maryland’s lead was still just 43-37 at the under-eight minute timeout, but second-chance points late made the difference. After Lexie Brown drained a three-pointer, Maryland had four second-chance opportunities on the following possession and another offensive rebound the next time down the floor, extending lead to 50-37.
Whether it’s the mental pressure added by a close score late in the contest or the superior conditioning the program preaches, the Terrapins seem to perform at their best late in games after struggling early. In games in which they’ve led by five or less at the half, the Terrapins have outscored opponents by an average of seven points over the final 20 minutes.
While Coach Frese would like to not have to sweat out so many close fought victories, she knows her young team is still learning, and that trial by fire can only help them as they look ahead to March.
“We play our best with our backs against the wall,” she admitted after Sunday’s win. “I just wish it didn’t take us that long.”
One thing Frese can’t complain about is attendance. There was a good crowd, just shy of 11,000, on hand Sunday, filling most of the lower bowl and the first few rows of the 200 sections. Such is the case most nights in the Big 10, as former Minnesota coach Frese well knows.
“We have loved every minute of it,” she said of the transition to a new home conference. “We play every night in front of five to ten thousand fans per game instead of empty seats. All the hostile environments — the team has thrived off of it.”
So far, they’ve handled all challenges and appear poised to make a run at the conference title in their first year in the league.
“I’m not handing them the Big 10 yet,” said Nebraska coach Connie Yori after the loss. “But that seems like the direction it’s going.”
Maryland can take one more step toward that goal with a win against fellow Big 10 newcomer Rutgers on Tuesday night, but Frese knows it won’t be easy. By this point in the year, the Terps have a big target on their back and will get everyone’s best shot.
“We’re getting ready to play a lot of teams a second time,” she said. “You have to have different wrinkles, because you’ve already seen these teams once, and they’re more hungry to beat you. We’re striving for perfection. You don’t want to have any weaknesses.”
