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Record: 34-2, 18-0 Big Ten
Road to the Final Four: No. 1 Seed - Spokane Region
Notable Wins: No. 16 New Mexico State, No. 8 Princeton, No. 4 Duke, No. 2 Tennessee
Head Coach: Brenda Frese (13th Year; 397-113 in 16 years)
Sagarin Ratings: 4
RPI: 6
Series: UConn leads 3-0, 1-0 in NCAA Tournament
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Maryland coach Brenda Frese is having UConn fatigue. She believes everyone in the country will be rooting for her team as they try to knock off the two-time defending national champions.
In order to beat the Huskies, her Terrapins will have to play the perfect game. The Terps advanced to their second straight Final Four and are looking for their second national title, having won in 2006. They have won 28 straight games, last losing to Notre Dame on December 3rd.
They had a much harder road to the Final Four than the rest of the other three teams playing tonight. Maryland, the Big Ten Champions, were the top seed in the Spokane Regional and faced four top 16 opponents on the road to Tampa. They defeated New Mexico State 75-57 in the first round in College Park, Maryland. In the second round, they knocked off the undefeated Princeton Tigers 85-70 in front of President Obama and his family. In the Sweet Sixteen they faced former conference rival Duke in Spokane and held onto for a 65-55 win. On Monday night, they needed a second half comeback to knock off Tennessee 58-48 in the regional final.
On the season, Maryland is averaging 79 points per game and giving up only 60 points.
Last year the Huskies defeated Maryland in College Park 72-55. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Morgan Tuck did not play for the Huskies in the win.
Key Players
No. 1 Laurin Mincy, 5th Year Senior, Guard (6-0): Mincy averages 13.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 39 minutes against Tennessee.
No. 4 Lexie Brown, Sophomore, Guard (5-9): Brown averages 13.5 points and 5.3 rebounds. Scored a team-high 15 points, including 10 of the teams final 14 points scored, in the victory on Monday. Brown was named to AP All-America Third Team.
No. 5 Malina Howard, Junior, Center (6-4): Howard only scored two points on Monday night and only averages 5.9 points. She only averages about 23 minutes per game.
No. 32 Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Sophomore, Guard (5-11): Walker-Kimbrough was named as an AP All-America Honorable Mention. She finished with 12 points and seven rebounds on Monday. She averages 13.5 points and 5.3 rebounds.
No. 42 Brionna Jones, Sophomore, Center (6-3): Jones scored 12.3 points and nine rebounds per game. She leads the team in block shots with 49 on the season. Jones added 14 points in win against the Lady Vols.
No. 2 Kiara Leslie, Freshman, Guard (6-0): Leslie is one of four players to play minutes off the bench, but was the only player to play significant minutes off the bench in Elite Eight win. Averages only 3.7 points per game.