COLLEGE PARK -- It was on everybody's mind.
How could it not be? How would the Maryland women's basketball team respond to the worst beating in the 24-year history of the program, Sunday night's 66-point thumping to Tennessee?
That was the question going into last night's game with Coppin )) State, and the Terps didn't produce the most picture-perfect performance, but it was good enough to turn back the Eagles, 74-56.
"We showed up [last night]. A lot of people thought we might not," said Maryland coach Chris Weller.
While the Terps (3-2) still appear to carry some of the shock of Sunday's 95-29 loss, they held their poise long enough to dispatch upset-minded Coppin (2-3).
"We just had to pick it up or we would lose and we couldn't lose this game," said freshman guard Sonia Chase (McDonogh).
Chase, who had just five points but contributed mightily with scrappy play along with five steals and nine rebounds, and fellow freshman Rachel Cimmier (Mount Hebron), who had 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, helped carry the Maryland load.
"I tried to do what I do best, which is hustle and pick up the intensity," said Chase.
Three other Maryland players, senior forward Kesha Camper (17 points), sophomore guard Lillian Purvis (12 points) and freshman reserve center Stephanie Cross (12 points), scored in double figures.
Coppin, which had lost previous games in the series by 54 and 21 points, stayed with the Terps for a good portion of the game.
The Eagles trailed by 19 early in the second half, but used a nearly six-minute cold spell by the Terps to slice the deficit to 11 points with about 10 minutes to go.
Coppin had a chance to pull within nine with 9:30 remaining when senior guard August Kenner's 18-footer rimmed out. From there, the Terps went on a 13-6 run.
"We felt if we could jump on them early, we could win," said Coppin coach Tori Harrison. "Coming off a loss like that [Tennessee], you can either come out flat or come out hungry. It seemed like we came out flat."