[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4929-4930]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, this is a turtle. In Maryland, we call it a 
terrapin. Fear the turtle. But today we need to revere the turtle. 
Sixteen magnificent young women got on a court in Boston, and we had 
one of the most exciting, well-played basketball games, male or female, 
in the history of our country.
  Madam Speaker, this morning I want to congratulate Coach Brenda Frese 
and the University of Maryland women's basketball team on winning the 
championship last night with a stunning 78-75 overtime victory over a 
valiant Duke University team. This game, Madam Speaker, was a 
demonstration of college athletics at its best.
  The gentlewoman from North Carolina just spoke; our athletic director 
comes from North Carolina, Debbie Yow, and she recruited Brenda Frese. 
We thank you for that.
  The Terrapins erased a 13-point second half deficit, the second 
largest in history, and Maryland freshman guard Kristi Toliver hit a 
three-point shot with 6.1 seconds remaining to send the game into 
overtime. ``We've played like this all year,'' said Terp Marissa 
Coleman. ``Nothing gets to us. We never thought we were going to lose 
this game.'' The Terps' win caps a tremendous 34-4 season and makes 
Maryland only the fourth college in America whose men's and women's 
basketball teams have captured national championships.
  Madam Speaker, I know that all of us join together to congratulate 
those 16 young women who showed America what women can do and what an 
extraordinary athletic event they can provide. Both teams were 
magnificent. We in Maryland are proud of our victory. But those in 
North Carolina who

[[Page 4930]]

come from Duke ought to be proud of their team as well.

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