April 6, 2006

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall University will play host to the 2006 NCAA women's basketball national champion Maryland Terrapins during next season's non-conference schedule. The visit by the Terrapins marks the second straight season that the Thundering Herd will face the defending NCAA champs.

Marshall, which played 2005 champion and No. 5-ranked Baylor in November, will welcome the Terrapins to the Cam Henderson Center, tentatively, on Nov. 28, 2006. Last season's loss to the Lady Bears (74-47) was MU's first ever game versus a defending national champion.

The game is the back end of a home-and-home agreement between the two schools that began with a Dec. 30, 2004, meeting in College Park, Md. Playing in the Terrapin Classic championship game, the Herd trailed No. 17 Maryland by only two points at halftime, but succumbed to a 17-6 run at the start of the second half to fall, 83-68.

The April 4 national championship game saw Maryland overcome a 13-point deficit versus No. 1 seed Duke to pull out a 78-75 overtime win. It was the second-largest comeback in the history of the NCAA title game and gave the second-seeded Terrapins UM's first women's basketball national championship in school history.

Maryland, 34-4 in 2005-06, dropped its only games of the season to teams that were ranked No. 1 at the time - Tennessee, Duke and North Carolina. Brenda Frese's team will return all five starters next season, including All-NCAA Tournament standout Kristi Toliver and Most Outstanding Player Laura Harper.

Marshall will enter its second season as a Conference USA member in 2006-07. The Herd finished fourth in the league standings in its inaugural season.