Clemson Looks to Avoid Letdown at College Park

January 27, 1999

Sandwiched between contests against Top 25 opponents, Clemson will try and not overlook a road game at Maryland on Thursday night.

The No. 15 Lady Tigers (16-3, 5-3) knocked off No. 16 Iowa State 81-72 on Sunday. After taking on the lowly Terrapins (3-14, 1-7) on Thursday, Clemson will battle ACC rival No. 19 Virginia on Sunday.

Clemson had five players in double-figures in the win over Iowa State. Nikki Blassingame scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the Lady Tigers.

Amy Geren, who averages a team-high 15.4 points per game, had 15 in the victory.

The Tigers hammered Maryland 89-48 on December 5. The Terps turned the ball over 32 times while suffering their largest loss of the year.

Things have been looking up for Maryland of late. Since the late-December return of Kelley Gibson and Tiffany Brown, the Terps top two scorers a year ago, Maryland has raised its scoring average nearly 20 points a game.

Maryland is coming off a 72-56 loss to Georgia Tech on January 21. That defeat came on the heels of the Terps best win of the season, a 94-76 romp over Florida State on January 17.

“We started feeling good about ourselves, and thought we could just show up,” Maryland coach Chris Weller said. “We still have to learn that the only way to winning is through hard work.”

Maryland holds a 24-18 edge in the all-time series with Clemson. The Lady Tigers have won the last four meetings, including a 63-44 decision in the semifinals of last season’s ACC tournament.