No. 8 Maryland 69, Coppin St. 38

12/13/2005 10:01 PM

By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - A slow pace, pending final exams and an overmatched foe brought out the worst in No. 8 Maryland.

And still, the Terrapins won by 31 points.

Marissa Coleman scored 13 points and Laura Harper and Shay Doron each had 12 to lead Maryland past Coppin State 69-38 on Tuesday night.

The Terrapins (9-1) outscored their in-state foes 23-4 at the free throw line and finished with a 40-19 rebounding advantage, but coach Brenda Frese was more concerned about Maryland's 21 turnovers and a lackluster opening 20 minutes during which her team gave the ball away 12 times.

``I was disappointed in our first half,'' Frese said. ``I thought we could have come out and played more inspired, a lot harder. I think their minds were on finals versus getting prepared for this game. We have to do a much better job taking care of the basketball.''

The Terrapins played without freshman point guard Kristi Toliver, who has been bothered by a leg injury. That's another reason Maryland finished with a season low in points and had only 10 assists.

Unwilling to run with the more athletic Terps, Coppin State (1-4) reduced the pace to a crawl. The strategy worked for 17 minutes - it was 24-16 late in the first half - but Maryland ended with an 11-0 run to go up by 19 at the break.

At halftime, the Terrapins resolved to lift their play.

``We wanted to come out with some more energy,'' Doron said. ``We felt really flat.''

The Eagles closed to 38-22 early in the second half before Maryland scored 13 straight points to go up 51-22 with 11:32 left. Five players scored in the run, led by Harper with four points.

That assured Maryland of improving to 11-0 against Coppin State in the one-sided rivalry that began in 1991.

Rashida Suber scored 16 points and Sherrie Tucker had 10 for the Eagles, off to their worst start in seven seasons under coach Derek Brown. Coppin State lost seven seniors from a team that reached the NCAA tournament last season.

The Terrapins limited Coppin State to 29 percent shooting in the first half and compiled a 24-6 rebounding edge, but couldn't pull away.

Maryland scored the game's first five points, then followed two baskets by Suber with a 12-0 run for a 17-4 lead. Coleman scored five points in the spree and Jade Perry had two field goals.

The Terps made only two baskets over the next 9 minutes, but the Eagles could only get within eight points. Maryland then got a 3-pointer from Coleman, four foul shots by Doron and baskets by Harper and Charmaine Carr to go up 35-16 at halftime.