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RALEIGH, N.C. -- As Maryland sophomore Marah Strickland sat inside a somber locker room following the Terrapins' NCAA South Region final loss to Louisville on Monday night, a familiar sense of sadness washed over her.
Last year as a freshman, she watched as seniors Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper -- two starters on the 2006 national title team and two of the best players in program history -- ended their careers with a bitter loss to Stanford in the region final. This year, she watched as seniors Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver -- again, two starters on the 2006 title team and two of the best players in program history -- wept openly at the end of the Terrapins' 77-60 loss to Louisville.
"It's really hard," Strickland said. "We lost in this same exact moment with Crystal and Harp last year, and we weren't able to send them off on a high note. Having two other great players in Kristi and Marissa, and once again not being able to bring them to the position that they deserve -- that's the hardest thing you'll ever do."
Coleman and Toliver leave Maryland as the program's winningest senior class, with an overall record of 126-19. They lost only three games at Comcast Center in four years. Coleman ranks second on Maryland's career scoring (2,205 points) and rebounding (1,139) lists, behind Langhorne. Toliver is third in scoring (2,078 points) and tops in assists (751) and three-pointers made (300). Yesterday afternoon, Toliver was honored as a first-team all-American by the Associated Press; Coleman was named to the second team.
"What an amazing career the two of them have had," Coach Brenda Frese said. "I'll go into war with them anytime, because of what they mean to program and what they've been able to do for this team."
During Coleman and Toliver's tenure, the Terrapins won a national title, an ACC regular season championship and an ACC tournament title. Now the challenge is for the Terrapins to sustain that success.
Three starters return: Strickland (who scored 15 points against Louisville), center Lynetta Kizer (the ACC freshman of the year) and forward Dee Liles (averaged 12 rebounds in the NCAA tournament). Redshirt freshmen Anjalé Barrett and Kim Rodgers emerged in the postseason as reliable reserves.
"There's still a lot of talent in this locker room, without Kristi and I. They are still capable of accomplishing great things," Coleman said.
-- Camille Powell
