Maryland women drubbed, 73-45, at North Carolina State

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Reprinted from yesterday's late editions

Road games have confounded the Maryland women's basketball team this season, and that trend continued in a 73-45 loss to North Carolina State on Thursday night at Reynolds Coliseum.

In the ACC opener for both schools, Maryland dropped its third of four games away from Comcast Center, ended its four-game winning streak and lost for just the second time in 11 games. The Terrapins had their five-game winning streak against the Wolfpack snapped after entering with two straight victories here.

"I thought N.C. State was incredible tonight," Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said. "Just played a lot more aggressive, physical, just what you expect from your first ACC game. Obviously with our young kids in the locker room, we get a taste of what it's going to be like when you go on the road and how hard you've got to be able to compete."

Maryland, which has nine underclassmen on its roster, scored its fewest points since losing to Duke, 74-44, on March 6, 2005. That also was the last time the Terrapins failed to reach 50 points before Thursday night.

The margin of victory was the largest for North Carolina State against a Frese-coached Maryland team and the third-most lopsided result in the history of the series. Senior Lori Bjork and freshman Diandra Tchatchouang were the only Maryland players to score in double figures with 10 points each.

Marissa Kastanek led the Wolfpack with a game-high 19 points, and Nikitta Gartrell added 16, including 3 of 4 three-pointers.

"We got outworked. We got out-hustled," Frese said.

That was most evident in rebound margin. Maryland entered close to plus-13 per game in that category, first in the ACC. Against North Carolina State, the Terrapins were outrebounded, 41-37, for the second time this season.

The Terrapins (12-3) were unable to recover from a first half during which they had 12 turnovers, shot 32 percent and went 0 for 5 from behind the three-point line en route to a 20-point deficit. The Wolfpack, meantime, outdid Maryland in fast-break points by a 15-0 margin and scored 18 points off of turnovers. The Terrapins managed four points off of five first-half turnovers by the Wolfpack (11-5).

"We felt like at halftime that we hadn't played the way we expected ourselves to play," Bjork said. "We certainly felt like we had a chance of coming back in the second half. Like anything, it's life. It's not what happens. It's how you take it. Tonight things just snowballed on us, and we didn't respond."

Maryland fell behind quickly and had to play catch-up for the rest of the game. The Terrapins turned over the ball three times in the first several minutes, and North Carolina State built a 10-2 lead less than four minutes into the game after Kastanek's three-pointer.

The Wolfpack soon thereafter stretched its lead to 15 points thanks to a 9-2 run that included a three-pointer by Gartrell and consecutive baskets from Amber White. That prompted Frese to call a timeout, and the Terrapins responded, at least temporarily.

Tianna Hawkins collected a quick pass from Jackie Nared and made the layup while being fouled. The bonus free throw rattled off the rim, but Maryland forced a North Carolina State miss, and Tchatchouang sank a three-point basket to cut the deficit to 19-8 with 12 minutes 6 seconds to play.

The Terrapins got within 11 at several other junctures, but each time the Wolfpack countered in a first half in which they made five three-pointers. The fourth came courtesy of Gartrell to make it 28-14, and the Wolfpack got consecutive steals leading to easy baskets for an 18-point cushion with 5:33 to play.

Again Frese called timeout, and Maryland emerged energized, though again only briefly. Anjale Barrett made two foul shots, and Tchatchouang added a field goal before White answered for the Wolfpack.

Hawkins countered with a three-point play to get Maryland to 34-21 with 2:50 to go, but then the game continued to unravel for the Terrapins as North Carolina State closed the half on a 7-0 run.

"You've got to be able to kind of pick up the pieces and learn what you can from this game, but then you've got to start getting your mind right and getting prepared for the next one," Bjork said. "It's a challenge, but you just have to learn to embrace playing on the road."