COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland women's basketball coach Chris Weller spent a lot of time in the last 11 days, since the Terps beat Iona, downplaying the importance of her impending 400th career victory.
When it finally came yesterday, on the third try, in an 83-80 nail biter over North Carolina State at Cole Field House, Weller stayed consistent, attaching little significance to her new status as the 18th coach in women's history to reach that milestone and the ninth to win 400 games at one school.
"[The 400th victory] was never a monkey on my back," said Weller. "Each season is brand new, and that's what makes coaching interesting. If it wasn't that way, it would be too hard to take."
Weller accepted the congratulations of university President William E. Kirwan and a hug from athletic director Debbie Yow, the younger sister of N.C. State coach Kay Yow, who reached the 400-victory plateau last season.
"It's a great milestone in coaching, especially when a coach wins 400 victories at the same institution," said Kay Yow. "It's kind of crazy to credit it to one individual, since we have great players and staff that help us. I guess we get the credit because nobody else has been there as long as us."
The Terps (10-9, 2-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference), who have taken their lumps from North Carolina and Virginia, the upper echelon of the league, in the last seven days, desperately needed yesterday's victory over the Wolfpack (10-7, 5-4), who beat Maryland, 68-45, in Raleigh earlier this month.
With just seven healthy players, and two of them in foul trouble, the Terps played their most inspired game of their ACC schedule, with fine interior defense, balanced scoring and clutch free-throw shooting.
Maryland held off a late N.C. State charge that shaved a 12-point second-half lead to three, before the Terps ran off six straight points to gain breathing room for a win Weller called the biggest of the season.
"It's a big win for us because it's nice to get rewarded for continuing to stick in there," said Weller. "We're not a great team by any stretch of the imagination, but we're beginning a team that eventually can be a great team. I told the team that it's not quantity but quality that counts. We may not have many in numbers, but we have good people."
One of those good people, freshman forward Stephanie Cross, celebrated her insertion into the starting lineup with an impressive game, finishing with 23 points -- 16 in the second half -- and 15 rebounds.
