Toliver the key for Terps
One thing that Kristi Toliver knows going into tonight's national-championship contest with Duke - she needs to cut down on her turnovers.
"I think it's very important that I keep possession of the ball," said Toliver, who committed 12 turnovers in Maryland's 81-70 win over North Carolina in Sunday's national semifinals.
"I don't think I've ever had that many turnovers in a game," said Toliver, a freshman point guard who starred locally at Harrisonburg High School.
Not that Toliver let the turnovers get her down. She ended up scoring 14 points against UNC - including a key three-pointer late in the second half that broke open what had been a close game.
"I could have hung my head, but instead I tried to contribute in other ways, like on defense. Earlier in the season I might have hung my head, but I have grown up a lot this season. I'm still not in a great mood about my turnover total, but we won the game, and that is the most important thing," Toliver said.
Winning is everything to Toliver, who is averaging 11.5 points and 4.4 assists per game and has been dubbed "The Franchise" by her teammates.
"She hates it," said guard Marissa Coleman, who came up with the nickname for Toliver.
"I decided to call her 'The Franchise' because she is such a great player. That just shows how humble she is because she hates that we call her that, but she is the franchise. She's our best player, our go-to player," Coleman said.
She's also an especially mature player for a freshman, coach Brenda Frese said.
"I think the thing that makes her so special, as you witnessed her having a tough night with the turnovers, but she kept her head in the game," Frese said.
"How many freshmen do you know who would, or any player, let's not even tab her as a freshman, make that many mistakes and still be able to keep their head in the game and stay poised and knock down some really key shots?" Frese said.
"She's the backbone of this team, and she's come so far," Frese said.
Toliver has one more bit of work to do before she will consider herself done for the season. Duke point guard Lindsey Harding, who will be guarding Toliver in tonight's championship game, "plays great defense, I need to keep attacking her and being aggressive."
"Defensively, she can hit the three and she can get to the basket, so I need to do the job containing her," said Toliver, who averaged 15.7 points, four assists and 2.3 turnovers per game in three games with Duke this season.
- Chris Graham