Maryland Terrapins open Terrapin Classic with a win

The goal for the Maryland women's basketball team Sunday night in the opening round of the Terrapin Classic was simple: Whatever you do, keep your eyes off the scoreboard. The challenge was more daunting than it might seem, given that the Terrapins were playing Stony Brook, a bottom-dwelling team from the America East, on a night when seemingly everything was clicking.

Maryland (10-2) scored the first eight points of the game and led by 20 at halftime, but what impressed Coach Brenda Frese the most about her team's 76-44 win at Comcast Center was that the players achieved their primary objective.

"We talked a lot about not playing to the opponent, but playing to get better," Frese said. "I thought it was a positive seeing how well we played for 40 minutes."

There were an assortment of reasons why Maryland trounced Stony Brook (2-9) by 32 points. The Terrapins owned the boards, defended vigorously and received significant contributions from their reserves, just to name a few.

Freshman forward Diandra Tchatchouang may have been the leading scorer with 17 points, but hers was only one of the prolific performances that propelled Maryland to victory. Sophomore center Lynetta Kizer recorded her 12th career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman forward Tianna Hawkins, the ACC rookie of the week, added six points and 13 rebounds.

Maryland outrebounded Stony Brook, 55-36, an advantage that led to a horde of second-chance points. In all but one game this season, Maryland has outrebounded its opponent.

The Terrapins limited Stony Brook to 25 percent shooting from the field and held the Seawolves scoreless in the game's final four minutes. Maryland turned 20 Stony Brook turnovers into 26 points. "We were able to mix it up on defense," Frese said, noting that the Terrapins performed effectively in both their half-court and full-court presses.

Off the bench, the Terrapins' cause was aided by redshirt freshman guard Jackie Nared, who registered 15 points and seven rebounds, as well as senior guard Lori Bjork, who added 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range.

Bjork did not start Sunday night. Consequently, Maryland's starting lineup included three freshmen -- Tchatchouang, Hawkins and guard Dara Taylor -- for the first time this season.

"The biggest thing we need from Lori is her poise and composure," Frese said. "On a very young team, we need her to lead with experience. She really showed her calming presence" Sunday night.

Bjork is not short on experience. A third-team all-Big Ten selection at Illinois in 2007-08, Bjork transferred to Maryland after becoming a 1,000-point scorer and claiming the program record for most three-point makes in a career.

While Bjork stretched the Stony Brook defense along the perimeter, Nared worked the lane. Bjork and Nared each played 28 minutes and combined to make 50 percent of their shots.

"Its huge when she plays the way she played tonight," Frese said of Nared. "She makes us a better team when she plays with confidence and tonight she was aggressive and she energized the team because of her hustle plays. You can see it when she comes in the game everyone plays a little harder and she pushes our transition game and makes us a more complete team."

Maryland will host North Carolina-Wilmington on Tuesday in the third and final game of the Terrapin Classic. Stony Brook will play UNC-Wilmington on Monday.