Harper's Heart Remains Only Constant

Maryland Senior, Playing Her Best Ball, Has Seen Plenty in Four Years

The most vivid image from the Maryland women's basketball team's loss to Mississippi in last season's NCAA tournament came inside the locker room following the game: Laura Harper, her 6-foot-4 frame somehow curled into the fetal position inside her locker, sobbing uncontrollably. A few teammates tried to soothe Harper, but she was inconsolable.

Every player in the locker room that night felt the pain of that loss, but none more than Harper, who by nature is an overtly passionate competitor.

"I definitely took it to heart," Harper said. "I just felt like I let the team down. . . . I was just so hard on myself. I was on the Ole Miss game for months and months and months. I finally put it away. It took me probably to the beginning of the season just to be like, if we want to be as good as we want to be, we can't look back anymore."

Spurred by that early-round exit from the tournament, Harper is playing the best basketball of her career this season, in part because she has better control over her emotions. Today, when Maryland travels to North Carolina for what could be the Terrapins' biggest game of the season to date, they will take the court with a more confident, more poised Harper.

"Definitely I would say by far the best season she's had since she's been here and the most consistent," Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said. "The biggest thing I've seen with her this season is she's just so much more grounded. She's an emotional, passionate kid, which you love, but in the past, that sometimes got the better of her."

Before this season, whenever Harper had a poor start, she would tend to disappear for the remainder of the game. That's all changed.

After an unremarkable game at Virginia a week ago, she started slowly against Georgia Tech two days later. Frese took her out to settle her down, and Harper returned minutes later with renewed energy. She became a force underneath the basket, scoring 24 points and grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds, only the fourth 20-20 game by a Maryland player since 1980. She also blocked a season-high four shots.

"I think that was the problem: I did look back a lot," Harper said. "I would play one bad game and then it would lead to another one and another one. I'm really glad that I've matured enough to realize it's basketball. It's a game. You don't play great every single time. Things are more in perspective this year for me."

Since she arrived on campus from Cheltenham High School in Elkins Park, Pa., Harper has seen her career at Maryland develop in unexpected directions. A ruptured Achilles' tendon ended her freshman season with 23 games remaining. The next season, she helped Maryland win a national championship and was named most outstanding player of the Final Four. When her junior season began, Harper felt burdened by the expectations of the award and wanted perfection. She got anything but.

Harper's production slipped. She averaged career lows in points (10.4) and rebounds (6.3), and recorded just six double-figure rebounding games. In the Mississippi game, Harper made 1 of 4 shots and finished with seven points.

"I think [the Achilles' tendon injury] has been my inspiration for pretty much every single year, and I think that's another reason why last year was so tough because I already lost pretty much a whole year and then to have that [junior] year happen, it was just like almost two of my years were pretty much taken from me," Harper said. "Although it wasn't, that's just how I felt. I was just really, really down. Gosh, I want to put everything possible into this one year."

A summer spent playing for USA Basketball's gold medal-winning under-21 team in Russia built her confidence, and she has played this season with surprising vigor. Not only is she averaging career highs in points (14.2) and rebounds (8.2), but she ranks third nationally in field goal shooting (62.6 percent) and needs just five blocks to become the school's career record holder in that category. She surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career in the ninth game of the season and earned her first ACC player of the week honors Dec. 24 after her 24-point performance at James Madison.

"Watching her on film, you can see that her game has improved," Georgia Tech Coach MaChelle Joseph said. "I think she's the team's most improved player on the defensive end."

When Frese gives birth to her twins and takes a leave of absence from the team, no player will miss her more than Harper. Frese has been the one to help Harper keep her emotions in check, calm her down and boost her confidence. It has been difficult for Harper not having Frese at away games. The thought of not having her at any games is unnerving.

"I want to be involved with her kids as much as possible, but I really want her to just have them so she can get back," Harper said.

Frese laughs when she recounts how Harper told her to have the babies when they left for the Virginia game so she could be back with the team for North Carolina.

"I said, 'Harp, I doubt I'm coming back in a week,' " Frese said. "Harp and I have a really unique and special relationship that dates back to when we were recruiting her. We've always been extremely close. . . . We've always had that communication or that dialogue throughout her entire career. I would agree that [Harper needs her], but at the same point, it is exciting because even though she thinks that, she is in a great place. She knows that if I'm not there I'm watching and we can circle back. She's in a really good place."