Maryland lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
Fresh off a blowout loss to No. 7 Texas and missing two veteran leaders — Shyanne Sellers and Bri McDaniel — to knee injuries, No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball entered its road match with No. 12 Ohio State at a low point.
The Terps hoped to dig out of that hole with a short-handed victory, but after a second-half collapse, Maryland found itself with consecutive losses for the first time this season.
The Terps fell, 74-66, to Ohio State Thursday night at Schottenstein Center. They turned the ball over 11 more times than their opponent and missed nine more free throws.
Buckeyes’ freshman Jaloni Cambridge led all scorers with 20 points.
“Really proud of this group for the mentality they brought from the tip after a really tough game about 72 hours ago,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. “This was a game about pride, and I think you saw that from both teams.”
The Terps delivered Ohio State the first blow, building a 10-point lead within the game’s first five minutes. In the absence of Sellers and McDaniel, they leaned on their advantages inside, aggressively crashing the glass on both ends.
Christina Dalce, who ended the game with 18 rebounds, led the effort on the glass, as Maryland outrebounded the Buckeyes by 11 in the first quarter. The starting five, which Allie Kubek rejoined in Sellers’ absence, played almost the entire opening 10 minutes.
The starters led the Terps to a solid offensive start, but their defense helped build the early lead. The Terps contained Ohio State to 12 points in the opening quarter, heading to the second frame up 10 points.
The second quarter saw Maryland regress, falling victim to sloppy offensive execution and allowing Ohio State’s full-court press to speed them up. Luckily for the Terps, Ohio State’s offensive struggles continued, protecting their lead.
Still, Ohio State won the quarter and closed the gap to seven points.
If the Terps regressed in the second quarter, they fell apart in the third.
After a Sarah Te-Biasu 3-pointer extended the Terps lead back to 10 points midway through the quarter, things imploded. Ohio State’s Cotie McMahon hit two free throws, and then the Buckeyes forced a turnover in the backcourt, leading to an easy layup.
They instantly stole Maryland’s next inbound pass and scored another layup, cutting a 10-point lead to four in a matter of seconds.
Frese called a timeout, hoping to stop the Buckeyes momentum, but was unsuccessful. Maryland went ice cold offensively, as Kaylene Smikle, who had a good first half with 12 points, forced shots in an effort to generate any kind of offense.
“Having a short bench really showed in the third quarter. With a lot of fatigue, [we] missed some uncharacteristic layups and free throws,” Frese said.
Ohio State claimed its first lead of the game late in the third quarter. Strangely, Frese instantly responded by inserting Emily Fisher, Maryland’s reserve guard, who hasn’t played any meaningful minutes this season.
Fisher drew two fouls, but went 1-of-4 from the free-throw line.
The Buckeyes’ lead eventually rose to 10 points. At that point, Maryland made its last attempt to get back into the game. Saylor Poffenbarger went into attack mode after a mostly quiet game, scoring six quick points and cutting the Buckeyes’ lead back down to six. Smikle got a good look from deep that could have cut Ohio State’s lead to three points with 2:39 left, but she couldn’t get it to drop.
From there, Ohio State secured the victory.
Three things to know
1. Depth failed the Terps. Maryland certainly looked to be missing two of its most important players. Frese got just three points from her bench, while Ohio State’s five reserves scored 20.
2. Free-throw woes. After starting the game perfect from the line, Maryland missed 13 free throws in the latter three quarters of the game. Smikle went 6-of-11 from the charity stripe, while Fisher and Kubek each went 1-of-4.
“I thought fatigue played into the free-throw percentage,” Frese said. “Because we’re a great free-throw shooting team.”
3. Maryland will have a chance at revenge. In the new Big Ten format, Maryland will play only one team twice, and this year, that’s Ohio State. The Terps will get another crack at the Buckeyes on their home floor in the season finale on March 2.
“I’m excited to get them off their home court and bring them back March 2,” Frese said. “Hopefully by then, we’ll have a healthy roster.”