Maryland travels to New Jersey for it’s final nonconference game of the regular season.
For months, No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball and its fans have circled the back half of January as the most difficult stretch of the year.
It has arrived, but now, Maryland will likely face it without one of its most important players in Bri McDaniel. She suffered an injury to her right knee in the team’s win against Minnesota Tuesday.
The stretch begins Monday with No. 7 Texas in the Coretta Scott King Classic in Newark, New Jersey.
The game will tip off at 5:30 p.m. and broadcast on FOX.
No. 7 Texas Longhorns (17-2, 4-1 SEC)
2023-24 record: 33-5, 14-4 Big 12
The Longhorns have battled through a gauntlet of a schedule en route to a 17-2 record, with its losses coming against No. 2 South Carolina and No. 3 Notre Dame. Texas lost to the Fighting Irish in overtime. The Longhorns have three wins over ranked teams: No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 19 Alabama and No. 20 West Virginia.
Head coach Vic Schaefer is in his 20th season at the helm.
Players to watch
Madison Booker, sophomore forward, 6-foot-1, No. 35 — Booker is one of the country’s best players. She moves like a small guard despite standing at 6-foot-1, and became the first freshman to ever win Big 12 Player of the Year last year. She’s picked up where she left off this year, averaging more than 15 points per game on more than 48% shooting from the field and from deep.
Taylor Jones, senior center, 6-foot-5, No. 44 — As she often is, Christina Dalce will be given an extremely tough task on both ends of the floor, matching up with Jones. Jones is extremely efficient around the rim, averaging 11.2 points per game on 63.6% shooting from the field. She also is an elite rim protector, totaling 30 blocks through Texas’ first 19 games. Dalce appears to have the rebounding edge, though, as Jones only averages 6.4 boards per game.
Rori Harmon, senior guard, 5-foot-6, No. 3 — Harmon runs the show for Texas and is just outside the nation’s top 10 in assists per game with 6.1. She sets the table for Booker and Jones exceptionally well, while also being a threat to score herself, averaging 10.7 points per game.
Strength
Offensive depth. Texas can hurt teams in so many ways on the offensive end, which has helped it to the country’s seventh-best scoring offense and second-best scoring margin. They have five players averaging more than eight points a game and at least three more capable of having a big game on any given day.
Weakness
Three-point shooting. Texas is second-to-last in the SEC in 3-point shooting, hitting less than 31% of its 11.6 attempts per game. In comparison, Maryland is shooting more than 35% from downtown on 17.5 attempts per game. If the Terps can get Saylor Poffenbarger or Kaylene Smikle going from deep, it could be a major advantage.
Three things to watch
1. Rotation without McDaniel. After McDaniel went down in Tuesday’s game against Minnesota, Frese shortened her rotation to just seven players, leaning more on Mir McLean. Playing just seven players over an entire game is a different challenge, so it will be interesting to see if Frese gives Ava McKennie more opportunity, who appears to be the next woman up.
2. Change of pace. The matchup with Texas will be Maryland’s first nonconference game in more than a month. The Terps have gotten used to the gritty, physical style of the Big Ten, so the transition to combatting Texas’ high-octane offense will be interesting.
3. Shyanne Sellers’ magic. As Maryland has hit the tougher part of its season, Sellers has rose to the occasion, playing her best basketball and looking like an All-American. Without McDaniel, Sellers’ success could be a determining factor in Newark.