Coleman Carries the Day

Record-Setting 42-Point Effort Leads Terps Into Region Final: Maryland 78, Vanderbilt 74

RALEIGH, N.C., March 28 -- When the final buzzer sounded and top-seeded Maryland had finally put away fourth-seeded Vanderbilt, 78-74, in a heart-stopping NCAA South Region semifinal on Saturday afternoon, senior Marissa Coleman dropped to the RBC Center floor and squatted with her head down for a couple of seconds. The normally exuberant senior forward needed to catch her breath and rest for a moment.

"I was exhausted," she said. And with good reason: Coleman played all 40 minutes, scored 42 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and made countless clutch plays in a game in which Maryland trailed by as many as 18 points and didn't take its first lead until just 2 minutes 7 seconds remained.

Fellow senior Kristi Toliver scored 17 points. She and Coleman -- the only two holdovers from the 2006 NCAA championship team -- combined for 37 of the Terrapins' 42 second-half points, with Coleman scoring the final, decisive four points.

"What more can you say about Marissa? I mean, just her will to win," said Coach Brenda Frese, whose team will be playing in its second straight region final. "Both of these two [seniors], every game they just step up with that will, that heart, that determination. What a phenomenal performance by this team. It's just special."

The Terrapins (31-4) will face third-seeded Louisville at 7 p.m. on Monday in the South Region final. The Cardinals (32-4), who are coached by former Maryland assistant Jeff Walz, throttled second-seeded Baylor, 56-39, in the first semifinal.

Coleman, who made 15 of 27 shots from the field and 10 of 11 from the foul line in setting a Maryland record for points in a game, is usually one of the most expressive players on the court. But she rarely smiled Saturday; instead she gritted her teeth and kept her jaw set in a determined line.

"I think she had that kind of persona today because she understood that if we didn't pick it up, this could possibly have been her last game," said redshirt freshman Kim Rodgers, who had five points and 12 rebounds. "There's a lot on the line, so she's going to play harder."

Vanderbilt (26-9) has two standout seniors of its own, forward Christina Wirth (28 points) and guard Jennifer Risper (13 points), and that pair helped the Southeastern Conference champion control most of the game. Wirth knocked down five three-pointers, and Risper, the SEC defensive player of the year, caused problems at times for both Coleman and Toliver. During one 60-second stretch in the second half, the 5-foot-9 Risper stripped Toliver of the ball and drew a foul, and then ripped the ball out of Coleman's hands as she rose for a shot.

But ultimately the Commodores had no answer for Coleman. They built a 33-15 lead over the first 13 1/2 minutes of the game, but Coleman scored 13 points in a 21-6 Maryland run that closed the half. After she pulled up for a long jumper to bring the Terrapins to within 39-36 shortly before the break, she ran down the court, shaking her head.

The Terrapins trailed, 68-57, after freshman center Lynetta Kizer was assessed a technical foul and Vanderbilt's Merideth Marsh (12 points) made both free throws. Then Coleman took over; she drew the fourth foul on Risper, then backed her down to score inside. Toliver sank a three-pointer from the right side, and Wirth countered with one from the left. Coleman scored seven straight points, attacking the basket each time, to cut the Commodores' lead to 71-69 with 3:44 to play. She also asked to defend Wirth.

"She was just taking it to the basket and not settling for jump shots," Toliver said of Coleman. Both players expressed surprise that Vanderbilt chose not to double-team Coleman. "I think once she got her confidence getting to the rim and making the chippies, that was giving her the confidence to knock down mid-range and three-point shots," Toliver said.

Maryland took the lead, 72-71, when Toliver fed Dee Liles (six points, nine rebounds) for a layup. Coleman figured heavily in that possession too, grabbing an offensive rebound and somehow finding a way to push the ball out to Toliver despite being on the ground.

Wirth knotted the score at 72 with a free throw; Toliver responded by knifing through the defense for a layup. Wirth again tied the score on free throws; Coleman scored on a soft pull-up in the lane with 27.9 seconds to give Maryland the lead for good.

"It probably started when Kristi and I were freshmen, all the close games we had, all the overtime games -- that kind of defined us there," Coleman said. "This team is never out of a game. It doesn't matter how many points we're down, we're going to fight. I think that shows what kind of competitors we are. We're never going to fold; we're never going to give up."