By Mike Wise
Sunday, March 29, 2009
RALEIGH, N.C.
Marissa. Exhale.
Coleman.
There are heirloom games and clutch performances this time of year. There is also unbelievable late-game execution under incredible stress. And then there is what happened at the RBC Center on Saturday in the round of 16 of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
Say it again, this time breathing even more deeply. Let out everything in your lungs, like she did, until every worry -- every fear -- disappears.
MarissaColeman.
Her unwillingness to let Maryland's season and this four-year, magic-carpet ride end, her indefatigable spirit in the crucible of Vanderbilt's upset try, is why she and her jubilant teammates are one victory away from the Final Four.
Forty-two points.
Fifteen rebounds.
Pressurized, pull-up jumpers in the lane.
Desperate defense against Vandy's Christina Wirth, whom Coleman asked to guard in the final eight minutes because "I didn't want her to be the reason our season ended."
Coleman not only scored 16 more points than any woman has in the nearly 10 years the building has been open, she broke Stephen Curry's 2008 arena scoring record of 40 points in last year's first round of the men's tournament. Stephen Curry!
Bearing first-hand witness to Michael Jordan once dropping 55 points on the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden and also his incomparable steal and shot against Utah; seeing, in person, an anonymous, 15-year-old Jason Kidd light up 18-year-olds in the Northern California prep championships, bringing the Oakland Coliseum to its feet and announcing the arrival of a wunderkind -- Coleman's sublime game ranks alongside both of them among the greatest individual performances I've ever covered.
She was literally the Terrapins' heroine, who would not let Maryland's season die. And don't be fooled by Coach Brenda Frese's sly, we-got-this-game smile. The Terps were about to go home.
Then Coleman happened, in little more than a heartbeat. Maryland, which clawed back from an 18-point first-half deficit only to give back the game again, trailed by nine points with 4 1/2 minutes left. The official play-by-play account explained it better:
GOOD! JUMPER by Coleman, Marissa 4:28
REBOUND (DEF) by Coleman, Marissa 4:09
GOOD! JUMPER by Coleman, Marissa 4:00
GOOD! FT SHOT by Coleman, Marissa 4:00
GOOD! LAYUP by Coleman, Marissa 3:46
In 62 scintillating seconds, her personal 7-0 run had stunningly drawn the Terps to within 71-69.
She wasn't done. After Wirth calmly sank two free throws with 42 seconds left to knot the score at 74, Coleman yo-yoed into the lane, turned and fired with 20 seconds left.
Nylon!
When Wirth missed a jumper on the other end, Coleman chased down the rebound and sealed the game with two free throws, her ninth and 10th makes from the line against just one miss.
Even with the game won, she battled for the last loose ball.
Out of breath as the horn sounded, her mouth agape -- a mixture of exhaustion and emotion -- Coleman crouched near half court and looked at the floor until teammates came rushing out to embrace her. Like fight trainers, they directed her to the congratulatory handshake line, where she staggered like a woozy boxer, nearly resting on Vanderbilt players as she absorbed their praises.
" 'Great game,' " she said Wirth told her when the hugged briefly.
"It's really tough," said Wirth, who had the Terps reeling at one point with five shots from deep beyond the arc and her 28 points. "I feel like we won this game for 39 minutes, and if you look at it, we probably did."
Melanie Balcomb, Vandy's coach, played postgame analyst better than anyone. "Down the stretch, we could not stop Coleman."
She had played all 40 minutes, given everything inside her, finding nooks and crannies to score on Jennifer Risper, the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year.
When Frese's team had all but been blown out in the first half, trailing by 18 points, Coleman put her head down.
She lowered her shoulder and churned toward the rim, powering to the free throw line, pulling up for rainbow swishes or claiming anything that careened off the rim. She had 12 points and five rebounds during Maryland's 21-6 run the final six minutes, pulling the Terrapins to 39-36.
A fan-made placard at Comcast Center this season read, "MARI$$A COLEMAN IS MONEY!"
Straight cash, her reputation traveled well today.
Frese could compare the heart and soul shown Saturday afternoon only to something she witnessed during the 2006 national title run, when a flu-ridden team somehow found a way to stave off Utah in the West Region and advance.
"That's got to be gutsiest performance I've been a part of outside of that," she said.
The symmetry was perfect in a way. Just like today, Coleman's mother, Joni, didn't see much of the game, either.
"I was too worried. I had to leave the arena and plug my ears when they started losing," Joni said. "I didn't see the comeback, I admit it. But I'll say this: I know how bad she wants it. And I know what she can do."
"She did the same thing in Albuquerque," Marissa said, shrugging and grinning. "My mom . . . she gets so nervous."
Under "Notable Events" in the RBC Center's history, things such as "Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band's Reunion Tour, 2000" and "Stanley Cup Finals, 2002 and 2006" listed. After today, it needs to include "NCAA Women's Tournament Regional Championships."
It needs to include Marissa Coleman, whose passion and perseverance in the face of the potential end to her collegiate career made them exhale here like few other performers the past decade.
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