Maryland defeats Clemson

Feb. 29, 2004

Clemson, SC-Maryland freshmen Kalika France and Shay Doron combined for 34 points, nine assists and nine rebounds to lead the Terps to a 80-69 victory at Clemson on Sunday. The victory improved Maryland’s record to 16-11 overall, 8-8 in the ACC, while Clemson fell to 17-10 overall, 7-9 in the ACC.

It was the final home game for Lady Tigers Maggie Slosser, Lakeia Stokes, Julie Aderhold and Kanetra Queen. The foursome played well in their final contest, combining for 47 of Clemson’s 69 points. Stokes led the way with 24 points, while Slosser added a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Carrie Whitehurst was the only other Lady Tiger in double figures with 11 points in just 12 minutes of play. She scored 3-4 field goals, including 2-3 from three-point range and added three rebounds.

France led Maryland with 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 37 minutes. She made 11-13 free throws in the game, many down the stretch when Clemson had reduced an 18-point margin to seven. Doron added 13 points, all in the second half. She also had three assists and took three charges in 18 minutes. Senior Delvona Oliver added 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half when she made her first five shots from the field, including 2-2 on three-point shots. Senior Vicki Brick scored 11 and added three assists and three steals in 32 minutes off the bench.

Clemson shot 45 percent from the game, better than the 42.6 percent by Maryland. The two teams were tied in terms of rebounding at 40-40. But, Maryland made 8-23 three-point attempts, while Clemson made just 3-10. The Terps entered the game as the top three-point shooting team in the ACC.

Free throw shooting and turnovers were also trouble areas for Clemson, who lost to Maryland for the second time this year. Clemson entered the game as the ACC’s top free throw shooting team, but made just 16-31 on Sunday, 51.6 percent. Clemson committed 18 turnovers and forced just 11, as Maryland had 20 assists on 23 made field goals. Maryland entered the game leading the ACC in most turnovers committed per game, but had the +7 margin on Sunday.

Stokes 24 points were her high mark in the last 18 games. She made 10-17 from the field, had five rebounds and four assists to go with two steals in 31 minutes. She had to leave the game twice due to a sprained ankle. Slosser had 16 points and 11 rebounds to go with 5-7 shooting from the field and 6-7 from the foul line. It was her top scoring game since she had 21 points in a win over Wake Forest on January 21 and it was her first double-double since she had 24 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Western Kentucky on December 13.

Clemson jumped out to a 20-13 lead in the first 7:33 of the game as the Lady Tigers made 6 of their first 12 shots from the field and forced Maryland into four early turnovers. Clemson did not show the effects of having played a road game at Duke just 36 hours earlier. Maryland had the entire week to prepare for this game.

Maryland then turned a seven-point deficit into an eight-point lead with 4:40 left in the first half. The 19-4 run was keyed by the play of Oliver, who scored seven points during the run. Maryland led 39-29 at halftime.

Maryland increased its margin to 18 points at 63-45 with seven minutes remaining. But Stokes started to score on drives to the basket. She scored 11 straight points for the Lady Tigers at one point and cut the margin to seven points at 69-62 with 1:45 left. A three-point goal by Whitehurst with 50 seconds left cut the lead to seven again at 74-67, but Clemson could not get any closer. France made 7-8 free throws inside the last two minutes to preserve the victory for Maryland.