No. 16 Maryland women’s basketball looked to be in the driver’s seat heading into the fourth quarter Saturday night at Xfinity Center.
The Terps led Oregon by six and had momentum after a big layup by Oluchi Okananwa, who had exploded for 27 points through three quarters. They looked on track to snap a three-game losing streak.
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But for the second straight game, Maryland collapsed late. The Ducks shot 8-of-12 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 68-61 win over the Terps.
What first appeared to be a rough stretch for the Terps has turned disastrous. Their four-game losing streak is tied for the longest in head coach Brenda Frese’s illustrious tenure.
Maryland has now lost five of their last six games, and it ends a three-game homestand winless.
“We’re all disappointed, frustrated to not close out three really close, tough games, especially at home,” Frese said. “We’re competing. We’re right there. Possessions are close. We just continue to see it’s a 40-minute game, and impactful possessions matter.”
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The Terps scored just four points in the first eight minutes of the final frame, and that gave the Ducks a chance to go on a run.
Perimeter shooting was the difference in the end. The Terps fell cold and shot 0-of-6. The Ducks found fire and made three consecutive 3-pointers to take a lead that they never gave up.
“Oregon in the second half just came out with fresher legs, better depth made three [3-pointers] there in the fourth quarter that separated them,” Frese said. “No one’s going to feel sorry for us.”
Early in the season, Maryland’s defense looked to have drastically improved from previous years. But that trend has been bucked in Big Ten play, where the Terps have continually allowed elite individual performances.
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Ehis Etute was the benefactor of that Saturday. The sophomore exploded for 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting — her first 20-point game in college — and outmatched the Terps’ bigs in the paint.
Etute had her way with Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu offensively, forcing her into foul trouble. Etute only stands at an even six feet tall, but she still had a size advantage.
Maryland needed a similar performance from its brightest star, Okananwa. She had struggled in the first two legs of the Terps’ homestand.
Early on, Okananwa found a burst — she notched Maryland’s first nine points. But Addi Mack was the only other Terp to score in the frame, and Okananwa went scoreless herself for the final 7:49 of the first quarter.
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The lack of offense outside of the junior in the opening frame put the Terps into a hole — one that Okananwa then had to dig them out of. She was a lights-out 6-of-7 from the field in the second quarter.
After scoring a combined 20 points in Maryland’s previous two games, she finished the first half with 23 — over 60% of the Terps’ first-half scoring.
The Terps trailed by as much as eight in the second quarter, but a 14-0 run gave them a six-point halftime lead.
In the second half Ducks adjusted their defensive approach on Okananwa; she wasn’t nearly as impactful.
At the same time, important contributors in Yarden Garzon and Saylor Poffenbarger were unproductive offensively. Garzon made one 3-pointer and finished with three points. Poffenbarger was impactful, just not offensively. She had two points and eight rebounds.
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The Terps found most of their success down low as their struggles from beyond the arc continued; just two of their 15 3-point attempts on the night went in. Garzon in particular is Maryland’s best deep ball shooter, and she took just two attempts from beyond the arc — one of them was a desperation heave as time ran out.
Maryland’s lineup has been depleted for the majority of Big Ten play, which does not help in games such as these. Saturday was yet another example of it failing to close out contests over the last month.
After a strong start, Maryland’s season has reached a new low in Big Ten play, putting its status in the top-25 in jeopardy.
“We’re right there,” Frese said. “All these games, we’re learning how to compete in close games… that’s the growth that we’re continuing to have within this team.”
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Three things to know
1. Shot distribution. Mack and Okananwa combined for 38% of Maryland’s shot attempts on Saturday and 72.13% of its scoring. Maryland needed someone else to step up late in the game, but it seemed as though it had become too one-dimensional.
“It’s just feeding the hot hand,” Okananwa said. “I was it for us early, and Addi was definitely it for us late. Just recognizing that as a team and wanting to get that person involved.”
2. Mack had a strong supplementary game. Other than Okananwa, Maryland’s remaining offensive production was from Addi Mack. Mack scored 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting. Mack attacked the rim with relative success, facilitated well, was the primary ball-handler and dictated the offense’s pace.
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3. Breanna Williams added playing time. Frese tweaked her rotation from the team’s last few games. Breanna Williams hadn’t played against Iowa or Washington, but she played 16 minutes Saturday with Maryland desperately needing depth down low.
But Williams matched up with Etute for most of those 16 minutes. And Etute had a career night.
“[Williams] gave us some really good spot minutes, within that. But, yeah, we tried to throw a lot of things at them defensively as well as offensively.”
