CLEMSON, S.C. - Looks like No. 20 Maryland has an outside answer as well.
The Terps have counted on the slashing style of Shay Doron and strong inside play of Crystal Langhorne to challenge in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season.
But when Clemson's defense locked in on Maryland's top two scorers Doron and Langhorne, two other Terps stepped up. Ashleigh Newman and Kalika France combined for 11 3-pointers tying a school record set six years ago to lift Maryland (16-5, 5-4 ACC) to an 87-82 victory on Sunday.
Clemson has lost eight in a row, it's longest streak since dropping 11 straight in the 1986-87 season.
Newman hit all seven of her long-range shots in the opening period, while France, who had four 3s, scored 14 of her 19 points after halftime.
``Teams try to stop us and think we only have Shay and Crystal,'' Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. ``We proved tonight with Kalika's play and Ashleigh's play that this is a team and that any player is ready. They're all extremely talented.''
And Maryland needed them against the Lady Tigers (7-14, 1-8), who rallied from a 13-point deficit to lead 56-51 in the second half.
The game was tied at 72-all with 4:34 to go, but France followed with her final 3-pointer and had a three-point play down the stretch to keep Maryland out front.
The Terps hadn't made more than eight 3-pointers in a game this season. They tied the single-game school record set against Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 30, 1999.
``We're Division I athletes here. Maybe we don't shoot the ball too much in games before this,'' France says, ``but I'll let you know everybody on this team can shoot. You can key on whoever you want to key on and I guarantee you, somebody else is going to step up on any given night.''
Langhorne had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Maryland. Doron, the Terps leading scorer at nearly 20 points a game, finished with 12, including eight from the foul line. The two, who average almost 36 points a game between them, were held to 24 points on 6 of 14 shooting.
Clemson, though, couldn't stop the outside play of Newman and France.
Newman's touch early on spurred an 18-5 run that put Maryland ahead 39-26 in the opening half. When Newman closed the period with her seventh 3, she looked like she would easily break the school record of eight, set by Tiffany Brown against Clemson in 2000. The league record of nine was set by North Carolina State's Jennifer Howard in 1995.
``It felt good out there because I knew my shots were helping my team,'' she said.
But Clemson toughened its defense on Newman during its comeback. Lloyd and Maddox had eight points each as the Lady Tigers went on 22-4 run to lead 56-51 midway through the period.
Anesia Smith scored Maryland's next eight points to keep the game tight. France's third 3-pointer with 4:16 left broke the final tie and gave the Terps a 75-72 lead. After France and Doron converted three-point plays, Maryland was up 81-72.
Clemson couldn't get closer than three points the rest of the way.
``I was proud of the way this team fought,'' said Clemson coach Jim Davis, in the midst of his worst losing streak in 18 seasons. ``We didn't close the deal, though. That's what we have to work on.''
Maryland's Frese and her players don't expect to go off from the outside like this every game. It's nice, though, to know they can when they need to.
``It nice to see that so many players can come in and contribute,'' Frese said.
Wednesday
April 9th, 2025
9:16AM
