No. 20 Maryland women’s basketball head coach Brenda Frese often says life in the Big Ten is about managing the ups and downs that conference play presents. The Terps have served as a prime example of that in the last month.
After sliding into a four-game losing streak in late January — where they looked beaten down by their injuries — the Terps have responded with three straight victories to start February.
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Maryland battled past Penn State, 81-62, behind five different double-digit scoring performances headlined by Yarden Garzon’s 19 points.
It didn’t take long for Maryland fans to be reminded of what they missed out on from a Nittany Lion — Penn State center Gracie Merkle announced she’d transfer to play in College Park in the offseason, then rescinded her move a month later.
Merkle instantly started forcing her way into the restricted area around Maryland’s basket, where the Terps had no match for her physicality. In tandem with Rutgers transfer Kiyomi McMiller, the Nittany Lions have an exceptionally good scoring battery, especially given their 1-12 conference record.
The two of them helped the Nittany Lions take a lead on the Terps early, despite many expecting Maryland to roll through without resistance. Penn State held a one-point lead after the opening quarter and extended that advantage as high as four in the second quarter.
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No matter how well the Nittany Lions do offensively though, their biggest problem has been on the other end of the floor — they have been the worst scoring defense in the conference. Recognizing the mismatches she could exploit, Oluchi Okananwa began to attack off the dribble and carve her way into the paint. She rattled off nine second-quarter points to help Maryland regain the lead.
The Terps’ recent winning streak has also been aided by improved offensive output from two role players – Rainey Welson and Mir McLean. The two combined for 12 of Maryland’s 38 in the first half. The Terps went to the locker room leading by four points.
The third quarter is when Maryland really stepped on the gas pedal, extending its lead to double digits for the first time all night. The frame was 10 minutes of Maryland’s offense at its best. It got contributions from Garzon and Saylor Poffenbarger beyond the arc, Okananwa raced to the rim and the Terps earned multiple trips to the free throw line.
The Terps also exposed Merkle’s weakness on the other end, hacking her a couple times instead of letting her finish at the rim — she finished the game 1-of-5 from the free throw line.
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Maryland led by eight points heading into the fourth frame, but the game had already fallen out of reach for the Nittany Lions. It didn’t take long for Garzon to come up with a couple of timely threes to extend Maryland’s lead even further. She finished the night 5-of-7 from deep.
McMiller continued to deliver highlight finishes at the rim and difficult jumpers, but it was all for naught, as the Terps put Penn State to rest.
Three things to know
1. Play4Kay. The Terps’ win over the Nittany Lions came during their annual Play4Kay game in honor of former longtime NC State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow. Yow died from stage 4 breast cancer in 2009 — since then, numerous programs around the country have played games in her honor to spread awareness of cancers affecting women.
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2. Offensive rebounding loomed large. Maryland is at its best when it aggressively crashes the offensive glass, and it did just that against Penn State. The Terps came up with 19 offensive rebounds for 24 second chance points, while Penn State generated just nine for 19.
3. Chippiness late. The game maintained a relatively calm temperature until the fourth quarter, when Merkle secured a defensive rebound and tried to clear two Maryland players out of her way. She caught both Kyndal Walker and Isi Ozzy-Momodu in the face, sending both of them to the floor and drawing boos from the Maryland crowd. Merkle was assessed a flagrant foul for the play.
