The Towerlight, December 10, 2009

Pj Need the perfect gift for the holidays? Check out The Towerlight’s gift guide Media for the Towson University Community Women’s Basketball December 10, 2009 Top 25 Terps visit Towson Center ANDREW CONSTANT Assistant Sports Editor With two consecutive victories in the rear view mirror, the Tigers seem to have made a turn around and are playing some of their best basketball of the young season. With confer¬ ence play right around the comer, a monu¬ mental task awaits them as No. 25 Maryland comes to the Towson Center as part of the NCAA’s Pack the House night. The Terrapins won the National Championship in 2006. "From a historical standpoint, I can’t really speak to it, I can only speak from my tenure," Towson head coach Joe Mathews said. "It’s one of the best programs in the country, it's in our backyard and when you get a chance to host a wonderfully coached, wonderfully talented team it’s going to be a lot of fun." The Terrapins (8-1) have won five in a row and are averaging 73.6 points per contest this season. The Terps are led by Diandra Tchatchouang who averages just over 14 points per game and Lynetta Kizer who shoots 67 percent from deep and makes 80 percent of her free throws. Tianna Hawkins has been tak¬ ing care of the paint, collecting 7.6 rebounds per game so far this season and limiting other teams centers on the defensive end. Through nine games, the Terrapins have outscored their opponents 662-499, with those oppo¬ nents shooting just 34 percent from the field and 28 percent from three-point land. The Terrapins also feature immense size in their rotation. Kizer is 6-foot 4-inches and Tchatchouang is 6-foot 3-inches. Towson only has one player, Katrina Wheeler, who is 6-foot 3-inches or taller. "That’s going to be one of the most difficult things,” Mathews said of Maryland’s size. "Typically when you face programs in the top 10 in the country, the most difficult thing is to handle it offensively, the size, the athleticism. Size is definitely a factor. Maryland is not far away from what they were in 2006.” Towson (4-4) is playing its best basketball of the season, coming off back-to-back wins over Loyola and Bucknell. Against the Bison, Katrina Wheeler dominated the paint, finish¬ ing with a team and game-high 13 points. The bench contributed a lot to the Tigers victory, scoring all but 21 of the teams points. Shooting free throws was killing them early in the season when they couldn’t get any to go through the net, but against Bucknell, Towson made 11-15 from the line. Turnovers were still a problem though, as they coughed the ball up 23 times after losing it 20 times against Loyola. Shanae Baker-Brice is averaging 18.9 points per game this season for Towson, but played just 15 minutes Monday against Bucknell See TERPS, page 23 Shanae Baker- Brice leads the team with 18.9 points per game. Baker-Brice may break the all-time school record for points this season. File photo by Casey Prather/ The Towerlight Estimated $16 million in budget cuts to hit TU DANIEL GROSS News Editor Towson is facing the possibilities of a five percent tuition increase and a decision to cancel a major as two options to soften additional budget cuts to the University, according to administrators. During Monday's University Senate meeting, pro¬ vost Marcia Welsh said administrators are looking at "doomsday scenarios" for when the cuts will be decided after Dec. 15, when state revenues are looked at. "Right now, we’re kind of holding our breath and crossing our fingers to wait and see,” vice president of administration and finance James Sheehan said as he began the discussion with the Senate. According to Sheehan, the original state budget cut prediction was $1 billion to $2 billion however, that number has recently risen to $2 billion to $3 billion. The University is "hanging their hats” on the $2 billion figure, according to Sheehan, which would mean about $200 million in cuts to the University System of Maryland. TU makes up about eight percent of the overall system, which would mean about $15 million to $16 million additional cuts would be taken from the operating budget, Sheehan said. As a result of the coming budget cuts, Sheehan said there is a strong likelihood there will be a tuition increase of up to five percent next year. Currently, the approximate Fall, full-time, in-state tuition with mandatory fees is $3,709. According to the University’s Web site, without consideration of further cuts, next Fall’s tuition would normally increase to $3,857. If tuition is increased by 5 percent, the current fall full-time in-state tuition would increase by $185.45 per student - making next year’s Fall tuition approx¬ imately $3894.45. Welsh said the University will be looking at different ways to keep the effects of the cut to a minimum. "If we cut ‘X’ what's the trickle down?" Welsh said when discussing the possibility of taking away a department or other programs from the University. "We’re hoping we have no cuts next year, but we’re realistic and we know the economy is rebounding but not fast enough for us to be 'fat' next year. So we’re really talking about different scenarios." Welsh said that if they decide to cancel a major, there have to be discussions concerning the fallout of the decision and what are the possible outcomes. Though the idea of canceling a major or cutting back a department was discussed, Welsh did not say if there was speculation as to which major or depart¬ ment that might be. "We have to ask, ‘would it end up being a financial loss or a financial gain?’" Welsh said. "Everybody likes everything at a University to always be the same, and so when you have a financial cut some¬ times it gives the opportunity to do something that See CUTS, page 9 University Cutbacks: Towson University has plans to save money due to probable budget cuts in the upcoming years. Ideas include... - Raising tuition by up to 5 percent - Cancelling a major - Eliminating 17 permanent positions on campus - Cutting equipment and furniture budget - Severly reducing faculty and staff travel