Two months ago, Lynetta Kizer was ready to do this. Two months ago, the 6-foot-3 post out of Woodbridge, Va., was ready to get her college commitment out of the way and focus on enjoying her final year of club basketball.

However, two months ago, the world of women's college-basketball went topsy turvey. And the change that impacted Kizer the most was Gail Goestenkors leaving Duke for Texas.

Ya Ya Dunning (left) & Yah Yah Kizer

"That changed a lot for me," Kizer said.

At the time, Maryland was squarely in the picture, but the picture - with the Terrapins in it and Goestenkors out - became much more clear as the weeks passed. To the point that Kizer, the top-rated post prospect in 2008 by HoopGurlz.com, committed to Maryland coach Brenda Frese on Monday.

Close to home, Maryland was a friendly, familiar place to Kizer. She regularly attended games there and became a fan. She also made two unofficial visits.

"Maryland was one of the first schools to recruit me," said Kizer, the No. 6 overall prospect in 2008, according to HoopGurlz.com. "I felt real comfortable with the players and the coaching staff. I like the area and the academics. It all kind of fell right into place."

The commitment is a strong follow-up to a 2007 recruiting class that was the deepest in the country and ranked by HoopGurlz as second only to Tennessee's powerhouse group. The Terps' class included Marah Strickland, the 9th overall prospect in 2007, who was Kizer's teammate at Boo Williams Summer League. Another former club teamate, Monica Wright, the ACC Freshman of the Year, attends Virginia, Kizer's other finalist.

In addition to Duke, North Carolina State and Temple were on Kizer's previous list of finalists. She took unofficial visits to each of her final five, as well as Virginia Tech.

Kizer's commitment also addresses a huge need for the 2006 NCAA champions, as star inside players Laura Harper and Krystal Langhorne graduate after next season. Frese signed 6-2 wing-forward Drey Mingo (No. 16 overall), in addition to guards Anjale Barrett (No. 46), Kim Rodgers (No. 48), Katheryn Lyons (No. 58) to form her incoming freshman class.

Lynetta Kizer

"I wouldn't call myself the missing piece," Kizer said. "But I hope to have a big impact my freshman year."

To that end, Kizer attended the USA Basketball Youth Basketball Festival in Colorado Springs, Colo., this past weekend. She also will attend the Nike Skills Academy on the Nike campus in Beaverton, Ore., in two weekends.

The two most physically punishing players in the 2008 class, Kizer, who is nicknamed "Yah Yah," and the other "Ya Ya," Ayana Dunning of Columbus, Ohio, went head to head at the jYouth Development Festival and played to a virtual standstill. Kizer is one of those rare high-school girl's players who seems to relish contact. She also is extremely nimble and mobile for her size, a force even in the open floor.

Kizer plays with arguably the best perimeter team on the club circuit, Boo Williams Summer League, so her inside prowess is more on display at Potomac High School, for whom she averaged 22.9 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. She has career highs of 42 points and 19 rebounds, both compiled during the 2006-07 season.

Still, Kizer plans to continue playing the entire summer with Boo Williams and, as she put it, "get a couple of championships." The biggest prize, she said, would be Nike Nationals, which ends the summer evaluation period.

"The last two years, we've lost in the semifinals," Kizer said. "This is my last year to get it. Of course, that would be the ultimate."