Defending ACC Champs Take On UNC

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Maryland, the defending Atlantic Coast Conference Champions, will face North Carolina in the first round of the 2010 ACC Tournament which starts Thursday, March 4. The two long-time foes are set to tip-off at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on RSN (RSN – Fox Sports Net South (FSNS), Comcast Sports Net (CSN), Fox Sports Net Florida (FSNFL), New England Sports Network (NESN)) and Fox HD.

"We always look forward to any match up with North Carolina," Head Coach Brenda Frese said. "Now, it's a new season for us, going down to the ACC Tournament. Like we told our players, everybody that goes in there is 0-0. Now, you've got to be able to come in fighting for your life."

In the concluding game of the regular season for Maryland against No. 9 Florida State, freshman Diandra Tchatchouang led all players with 23 points, her third 20-plus point performance of her career. She has recorded double-figures in 19 games this season. Sophomore Lynetta Kizer was also in double-digits with 17. Both Terrapins lead the team in points, with Kizer averaging 12.6 per game and Tchatchouang with 12.3. Kizer also leads the team in rebounds with 7.6 per contest.

Despite the youth of the squad, nine freshmen and sophomores, the freshmen have continued to lead their class in the conference in multiple categories including points (Tchatchouang), rebounds (Tianna Hawkins), assists (Dara Taylor), assist/turnover ratio (Taylor), field goal percentage (Hawkins) and defensive rebounds (Hawkins).

Last time the Terps faced then-No. 10 North Carolina the Tar Heels came out on top after a rally from the Terrapins in Raleigh, N.C. Maryland had battled back from an 11-point deficit to tie the game at 33 at halftime. Senior Lori Bjork and sophomore Kim Rodgers led the team with 18 and 11 points, respectively. Rodgers had made her debut in that game after suffering a fracture to her left hand. One of the Virginia Beach, Va., native's three three-pointers in the game knotted the halftime score.

Since that game, North Carolina has dropped from the rankings and gone 4-7, recording wins over Clemson, N.C. State, Wake Forest in overtime and Duke. The Tar Heels dropped games to Florida State, Miami, Duke, Boston College, Virginia and N.C. State.

UNC leads in the all-time series, 36-31. However, Maryland leads in neutral site games, 7-4. The Terps defeated North Carolina in the 2009 ACC tournament on their way to becoming the tournament champions. The Terrapins won, 95-84 in the third round.

The winner of the game between Maryland and North Carolina plays No. 1 seed Duke on Friday, March 5 at 3 p.m. ET.

Tickets are available and may be obtained by calling tickets.com at (336) 852-1100, by visiting tickets.com on the web at www.tickets.com, or by calling the Maryland ticket office for tickets at 1-800-IMA-TERP.

For more information on ACC women's basketball, log onto theACC.com.