No. 1 Maryland 68, Marshall 49

11/29/2006 9:32 PM

By JOHN RABY
AP Sports Writer

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -Maryland overcame another mistake-filled game.

The top-ranked Terrapins committed 21 turnovers but never trailed in a 68-49 win over poor-shooting Marshall on Wednesday night.

Maryland (8-0), off to its best start since the 1991-92 team opened 9-0, surpassed 20 turnovers for the fourth time in six games.

``It's something we've addressed early on and we need to get better at,'' coach Brenda Frese said.

Crystal Langhorne led a balanced Maryland offense with 15 points. Marissa Coleman added 13 points, and Kristi Toliver and Shay Doron scored 12 apiece.

Defending national champion Maryland has beaten its opponents by an average of 25 points. Frese said it's difficult to get a complete performance from her team every game, although Maryland came close in a 101-79 win over Mississippi on Saturday to win the Junkanoo Jam tournament in the Bahamas.

The Terrapins' 33 first-half points on Wednesday were a season low and they didn't put away Marshall until the second half. Maryland had its worst shooting performance of the season from the field at 37.5 percent (24-of-64).

``Up until this point we've been shooting the ball well,'' Frese said. ``It was a different kind of game for us where we needed to find offense in different ways. We did a tremendous job in trying to get to the glass until we were able to find our offense again.''

Meg Withrow scored 11 points to lead Marshall (5-2), which hosted a top-ranked team for the first time and was held to its lowest point total of the season.

``They're so good,'' Marshall coach Royce Chadwick said. ``The only thing they're doing wrong right now is they're shuffling their feet a little bit too much and traveling in situations because they're a little rusty. When they get going in the spring, holy smokes.''

Modupe Ishola made a free throw and a layup to bring Marshall to 35-25 with 18:37 left. But Toliver made a pair of 3-pointers to start a 21-5 run that put the Terrapins ahead 56-30 with 9:22 to go.

``Every time she shot it, it crippled me,'' Chadwick said. ``She's just big-time.''

Marshall struggled to get off shots against Maryland's full-court press. The Thundering Herd made just 31 percent (19-of-62) of their field goals and only 11 of 25 free throws and were outrebounded 53-37.

``If you get a look against Maryland, you better put it in. If you want to play at that level, you've got to make those shots,'' Chadwick said. ``We missed some opportunities and Maryland doesn't give it to you twice.''

The Terrapins made only three of their first 15 shots and went nearly seven minutes between first-half field goals.

Toliver's 3-pointer started a 14-4 run midway through the first half for a 28-11 lead, but Maryland softened on defense and Withrow made three free throws and scored off a steal to pull the Thundering Herd to 30-22 with 2:08 left in the half. Marshall got no closer.

Langhorne scored 11 points after halftime and finished with 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.

``In the first half we didn't get her enough touches,'' Frese said. ``We came out right away after halftime and were much more aware of being able to get her the ball. She really gave us a lift in the second half.''

Ishola, Marshall's leading scorer, was held to seven points, six below her average.