Balanced offensive attack pushes No. 22 Maryland women’s basketball past Nebraska 78-60

Photo by Grayson Belanger/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

After an unyielding January, Maryland women’s basketball has found a second wind in February.

After going 14-0 through the first two months of the season, Maryland hit a skid in January and lost six of nine games. 

Following a season-defining 86-70 win against No. 12 Michigan St on the road, No. 22 Maryland harvested another substantial road win, beating Nebraska 78-60 at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday in Nebraska.

“They just continued to grow,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “Everybody’s beating everybody up . . . when you get to February, that’s when teams start to separate.”

Oluchi Okananwa is one of the best when it comes to two-way guards. The junior set the tone for the Terps (19-6, 7-6 Big Ten) on both sides of the floor, scoring nine points and grabbing three steals in the first quarter. Okananwa continued to thrive the rest of the game, tallying 14 points, four steals, four rebounds and four assists. 

Maryland’s success was driven by its defensive effort. The Terps forced 15 turnovers in the first half and held Nebraska’s leading scorer Britt Prince to just two points. Maryland also made its presence felt on the interior – outrebounding the Huskers 23-15. The Terps have the tenth-best rebounding margin in the country at +10.5

Prince finished the contest with seven points and was held to just six shot attempts all game. Maryland threw multiple zone defenses in her direction, which disrupted Nebraska’s (16-8, 5-8 Big Ten) offense. 

“I thought we really set the tone defensively,” Frese said. “We were able to send great waves … from our defensive end.” 

The Maryland offense looked the sharpest it had all season. The team finished with four players in double digits and shot 50 percent from the field. The Terps punished the Huskers with a balanced attack, knocking down eight 3-pointers and scoring  44 points in the paint.

Forward Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu was a key contributor to Maryland’s success in the paint, scoring 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The redshirt junior missed only one field goal.

Guards Addi Mack and Saylor Poffenbarger both took a distributing role in the offense, combining for 14 points. The duo also contributed on defense, securing 12 rebounds and four steals.

The return of freshman guard Rainey Welson also added another much-needed wrinkle in their offense. After combining for 32 points against the Spartans, Maryland’s bench followed with a 23-point performance. Welson was the main contributor, scoring a career high 13 points, and led the bench with 23 minutes.

“You gotta have the confidence in your shot that every shot is gonna go in,” Welson said. “We decided to really pour into each other on this road trip, and I think you could see that on the court.”

The Terps once again showed their offensive potential when knocking down 3-pointers. They frequently drove their way inside the Huskers’ defense and kicked it out, providing open looks for everyone all over the floor.

As the talk of brackets begins to ramp up, it’s important for the Terps to continue capturing victories in the Big Ten conference. As of today, Maryland is predicted to be a five seed in the tournament.

Maryland will now return to College Park for a matchup against Penn State on Tuesday at 7 p.m.