The Terps are 4-0 to start the 2024-25 season.
Maryland women’s basketball went north to New York Wednesday night for its second straight ACC matchup.
Just like they did against Duke, the Terps defeated an old conference foe in Syracuse, winning 84-73 behind a huge second quarter.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
McDaniel steps up again
For the second game in a row, McDaniel came off Maryland’s bench and provided a much-needed spark.
When Maryland went down double-digits early in the second quarter, McDaniel stepped up and sparked a 15-0 run. That run got the Terps the lead they would protect for the rest of the game.
Despite coming off the bench, McDaniel played Maryland’s third-most minutes. Head coach Brenda Frese is utilizing her like some of the best sixth women in college hoops, and strategically leaning on her when she feels the team needs it.
“We have seven starters on this team between Bri and Saylor [Poffenbarger]”, Frese said. “[McDaniel] was no question our MVP.”
McDaniel finished with six assists to go along with her 13 points. She wasn’t just an offensive threat, though.
When Syracuse’s Georgia Woolley scored the game’s first eight points for the Orange, Frese assigned McDaniel the defensive responsibility. Woolley scored just nine points the rest of the game, ending with 17 points on 25 field goal attempts.
McDaniel is now up to 9.8 points per game on 54.8% from the field after a relatively slow start to the season.
Plenty of ball movement
Maryland set a new season high in assists with 17. McDaniel and Shyanne Sellers led the way with six each, and Poffenbarger followed with four.
Nine assists came in the second quarter, which was the Terps’ best frame by far, outscoring Syracuse 28-11.
“We know we cant do it all by ourselves so we just have to lean on our teammates,” McDaniel said, “just follow the game plan and go to the basket, get feet in the paint and get some kickouts.”
Many of the kickouts McDaniel alluded to resulted in wide-open threes for Maryland’s best shooters. The Terps went an impressive 8-of-16 from deep.
Kaylene Smikle benefited from some of those passes and had another terrific offensive game, but turned the ball over four times and didn’t contribute any assists. Frese pointed this out after the game, and said she wants Smikle to improve her assist-to-turnover ratio.
When the ball is moving, Maryland’s offense has looked like one of the best in the country so far this season.
Turnovers still an issue
Coming out of the second half, Maryland had all the momentum with an opportunity to put its foot on the gas and turn the game into a blowout.
Instead, it allowed the Orange to close the gap and set up a tense fourth-quarter finish. Maryland remained more efficient than them, but got a lot more sloppy on offense, turning it over 12 times in the half.
“That was disappointing, too many turnovers,” Frese said. “We could have put them away right there, so that’s an area we definitely need to improve on.”
Most of the turnovers were less the result of Syracuse’s defense and more a product of Maryland’s sloppiness. The Terps had multiple travels and offensive fouls go against them.
At one point in the quarter, Maryland had five straight possessions ending in a turnover.
The Terps did a much better job protecting the ball the rest of the game, and ended with 15 total turnovers. Smikle had four, Poffenbarger had three and four Terps had two.
Limiting turnovers will be an important step for Maryland, particularly when conference play begins.