Langhorne wills her way to play another day

NCAA women's tournament Maryland 80, Vanderbilt 66

It's not that there's an added incentive this year. The idea of a college career coming to an end is how a young person confronts her athletic mortality. Fear easily channels itself into motivation.

"You can't help but think about it being a senior. ... Any game could be our last," Langhorne said last night. "We just want to go out and play hard every minute we're out there because you never know when it's going to be your last few plays."

Langhorne was one of four starters to play at least 35 minutes last night. Though the Terps' bench contributed only one point, the starting five showed just how many weapons a team can squeeze on the court at any one time. Toliver didn't even attempt a shot until only 18 seconds remained in the first half. She didn't need to. Marah Strickland (Towson Catholic) - Maryland's fifth Beatle - finished with 13 points. Not bad when you consider she scored just three total in the two previous games. In fact, she had three three-pointers against the Commodores, after going three straight games without one.

The Commodores, one of the better defensive teams remaining in the tournament, allowed themselves to get sucked into a pace they couldn't maintain. The Terps had 44 points at the half. While that isn't especially out-of-the-norm for Maryland, in the Commodores' previous four games, their opponents posted scores of 44, 48, 47 and 46 - for the entire 40 minutes, not just one half. (In fact, before last night, only two teams scored 80 or more points against Vanderbilt this season - Tennessee and Old Dominion, both of whom are still alive in the tournament.)

The Terps held true to their word last night - they were a looser team last night, visibly enjoying themselves on the court. It's a reassuring sign because the brand of inspired play the Terps exhibited last night is the key to lengthening Langhorne's career, to eventually punching this team's ticket to Tampa.

At some point, Langhorne will have to take off her jersey a final time. She realizes that. She just hopes to do it on her terms.

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