RALEIGH, N.C. | As Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb was fine-tuning her team’s offense during the Commodores’ practice session Friday, what sounded like a party was emanating from somewhere in the bowels of RBC Center.
The clamor came from the Maryland women’s locker room, where a spirited session of Pictionary broke out while the Terrapins awaited their practice time.
“We’re just trying to have fun on and off the court,” redshirt freshman guard Anjale Barrett said. “You can be excited, but you can’t be too excited. You’ve got to find that happy medium. So we’re just relaxing, but when it’s time to go on the court, it’s back to business.”
Business time will come at approximately 2:30 p.m. Saturday, when the top-seeded Terps battle No. 4 Commodores in the second Raleigh Region semifinal. Friday might have seemed like an odd time for the Terps to practice their drawing skills, but it was an important part of their Sweet 16 preparation.
Maryland knows how the wrong mental state can cripple a tournament run. Coming off their national championship in 2006, the Terps were expected to make the Final Four the next season. Instead, the Terps were upset in the second round by Mississippi, a team they had beaten by 31 points earlier in the season.
That setback stuck with the Terps. Kristi Toliver said they were taking basketball too seriously by the end of that season.
“Especially come tournament time, we like to keep things loose and free,” the senior said. “This team has always had fun with one another, just like our freshman year. We started the tradition of playing those [board] games, and I think you can see it in our chemistry off the floor as well as on the floor.”
Toliver and fellow senior Marissa Coleman get most of the attention on the court, but the hodgepodge of personalities in the locker room forges the Terps’ easygoing nature.
Sometimes the amusement comes from freshman center Lynetta Kizer, who likes to joke off the court as much as she likes to attack the rim on it. Other times, the source is London native Yemi Oyefuwa, a freshman center who spent six years in musical theater.
“We were in the training room after the [NCAA tournament] selection show, and the men’s trainer, J.J. [Bush], comes in and he asked us if we were ready to go dancing,” Coleman recalled with a grin. “And we were all like, ’Yeah!’ We were really excited.
“But Yemi’s looking around and she’s like, ’We have to go dancing soon?’ And we’re like, ’Yemi, that’s what they call the NCAA tournament - the Big Dance.’ I don’t think she still quite understood what it was, but I think she’s getting the hang of it now.”
The Terps agree their biggest source of entertainment is Emery Wallace. Even though a string of knee injuries ended her playing career, the sophomore remains an integral part of Maryland’s chemistry.
She is vocal on the sideline during games and practices alike, shouting words of encouragement and instruction. Her impact hasn’t been lost on the Terps - after they dropped games at Texas Christian and Pittsburgh early in the season, coach Brenda Frese insisted Wallace not miss any more road trips.
“I’m just focusing on what I can do to help out off the court,” Wallace said. “I can contribute on the court being that vocal leader, being positive, always keeping a smile on my face, especially when someone’s down. … I’m just trying to keep the bench upbeat, keep us loud in terms of communication [on the court]. I’m really just trying to have fun.”
The Terps, winners of 14 straight, are doing just that. With two more, they can punch their tickets to the Final Four.
Just don’t expect them to fret about it.
“When people ask almost everyone on the team why they came here, it’s because it’s really a family atmosphere,” redshirt freshman guard Kim Rodgers said. “We love each other, we love to spend time with each other and we like to keep it light. You don’t ever want to be too serious, especially at this point.
“You understand that there’s a lot on the line, but you don’t want to take it too seriously.”
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