Towson Women School Maryland

It was just a week ago that Maryland coach Brenda Frese pronounced she liked the direction her Terps were heading. They were coming off a 21-point win over Minnesota, a victory that propelled them into the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time this season.

Now, Frese is likely wondering what direction her team is headed next, after perhaps the most surprising loss in women's college basketball this year, a 67-55 setback to in-state rival Towson on Thursday.

The Terps, who had climbed to No. 18 in the coaches' poll and had snuck in at No.25 in the AP rankings, were stunned by a Tiger team that was picked to finish sixth in a preseason Colonial Athletic Association poll.

As the horn sounded, a throng of over 2,200 -- a Towson Center record crowd for women's basketball -- stormed the court, marking the first win for Towson over Maryland in 34 years.

"Towson was just spectacular. They made a lot of plays on both ends of the floor and gave us a lot of problems," Frese said.

Indeed, the Tigers (4-4) punctuated the biggest win in the program's history with outstanding defense, limiting Maryland (8-2) to a 34 percent field goal shooting night.

Towson withstood Maryland's pressure in the second half, but never let the Terps get within five, after leading by seven at halftime. The Towson coaching staff had shown the players video of teams that had played Maryland recently and had had some success. The Tigers then did the rest, led by senior Shenae Baker-Brice, who scored 25 points.

"A really good team can smell the fear," said Towson coach Joe Mathews, a former Virginia Tech assistant, who earned his 100th career win in eight seasons.

"I've been on the other side of that at Virginia Tech when we played UConn and those guys weren't ready. We wanted to make sure that our team had no fear. But the only way to prove that is to go out and play."

The Terps, who dropped their only other road game, an 84-55 thumping at Mississippi State, are young, having lost Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver to graduation.

Between them, Coleman and Toliver, who went second and third, respectively, in the WNBA Draft, took over 4,200 points and 1,200 assists with them, but Frese has been confident that the Terps would be OK offensively.

With just one senior, Illinois transfer Lori Bjork, and nine underclassmen on the roster, where the Terps have looked to improve is on defense. The fact that Towson shot 52 percent for the game, and 56 percent in the first half, indicates that Maryland still has a way to go in shutting down opponents.

"We're still young right now," sophomore center Lynetta Kiser said after the Minnesota game. "I think where we want to be at is on defense. That's where we really want to hang our hat. Being able to stop other teams, that's what we're looking for. Our offense will come."

Kiser, a 6-foot-4 native of Woodbridge, Va., anchors the offense. The reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, Kiser is versatile, with a nice touch out to 15 feet, as well as solid low-post moves. She is flanked inside by French native Diandra Tchatchouang, who is interchangeable with Kiser.

The Maryland backcourt is more a work in progress, with redshirt sophomores Anjale Barrett and Kim Rodgers being asked to carry most of the leadership, along with Bjork. Freshmen Tianna Hawkins and Dara Taylor have provided sparks off the bench.

Maryland will have nine more days off before returning to the court, and about three weeks to do some more growing up before starting ACC play. With road games at Virginia and North Carolina in the first two weeks of league play, the Terps will have to mature in a hurry.