The Terps are 5-0.
Maryland women’s basketball showed no signs of slowing down when it welcomed Towson to Xfinity Center on Sunday morning.
Maryland improved to 5-0 behind a dominant offensive performance that saw six Terps score in double figures and register the team’s highest offensive output this season in a 98-63 win.
The game marked 2006 NCAA tournament most outstanding player and national champion Laura Harper’s return to College Park.
“So special to coach against Laura, to see how far she’s come in her career,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said.
Kaylene Smikle led the way with her fourth-straight 20-plus-point performance, notching 21 in the win.
“Consistency is something that I take pride in,” Smikle said. “I don’t want to come out one day and have good game and not the next day.”
Maryland didn’t take long to get into a flow offensively. Within four minutes of tip-off, Towson called a timeout after back-to-back Bri McDaniel and Sarah Te-Biasu 3-pointers.
The Terps didn’t look back from there, knocking down 5-of-7 from deep in the first quarter. Similar to their best moments against Syracuse, the ball moved fluidly, generating open looks from deep and at the rim.
All of that culminated in a 33-point opening quarter, the team’s highest point total in a quarter all year.
“I loved where we were after that first quarter, we had 10 assists and only one turnover,” Frese said.
Towson had some offensive answers of its own, though. In the second quarter, the Tigers showed some resiliency and demonstrated their offensive prowess.
The Tigers won the quarter, 22-21, on the back of some efficient offense. Guard India Johnston gave Maryland trouble, scoring at all three levels. She finished the game with a game-high 22 points
Still, Towson needed stops to get back into the game, and it simply looked overmatched by Maryland’s offensive options. The Terps marched into the break with a 54-40 lead.
Maryland quickly built on its advantage in the second half, dashing any hopes of a Tigers comeback. The Terps stayed hot from deep, making both 3-point attempts in the third quarter and pushing the ball in transition.
Maryland also scored 33 points on the fast-break to Towson’s zero.
Every healthy Terp saw significant minutes, as Frese emptied the bench in the fourth quarter and Maryland coasted to a victory in front of its home fans.
Three things to know
1. Double-Doubles. Shyanne Sellers and Christina Dalce both recorded double-doubles in the victory. Sellers had 10 points and 10 assists, while Dalce had 13 points on seven shots and grabbed 10 boards. Sellers’ facilitation was especially impressive, setting her teammates up for open layups and threes all morning long.
2. Terps stay hot from deep. Maryland has been ridiculously efficient from beyond the arc in its last few games. The Terps shot almost 65% from three, with Poffenbarger, Te-Biasu and Smikle leading the way, combining for 10 of the team’s 11 threes.
“It flows. We have really good ball movement so we’re getting open shots,” Poffenbarger said.
3. Ball movement. Against Syracuse, Maryland set a season-high with 17 assists. It took the Terps just one game to shatter that mark, recording assists on 27 of its buckets against the Tigers. Sellers led the way, but McDaniel and Te-Biasu combined for 10 as well.