Maryland women’s basketball (5-3) continues its five-game home stand on Sunday against George Mason (7-0), who is off to its best start in program history.
“We all love playing at home,” wing Brinae Alexander said. “It’s fun to defend your home court. That helps your confidence going in.”
Alexander looked comfortable in Xfinity Center against Niagara last time out with a career night. The graduate student set a new career high scoring 29 points, including a phenomenal 11-11 start from the field.
The Terps look to build off the dominant performance from their 70-point win over the Purple Eagles. where they excelled on both ends of the floor. Maryland set a new season high in shooting, connecting on 67 percent of its shots, while holding Niagara to only 27 percent shooting from the field. The Terps forced 16 steals and dominated on the fast break, scoring 34 fast break points.
But the game wasn’t all positives for Maryland, as the injury bug has started to hit the Terps. Forward Emma Chardon hurt her left leg against Niagara after taking a fall, and eventually returned to the bench on crutches late in the fourth quarter.
Chardon was declared on Saturday out for the season with a torn ACL in her left knee.
Chardon’s injury came after guard Lavender Briggs suffered a lower body injury in Cancun. Coach Brenda Frese expects to get Briggs back around the holidays.
Maryland will need to rely more on its scoring by committee approach, down a starter and another player expected to make a leap this season. The Terps have four double digit scorers — Alexander, wing Jakia Brown-Turner, and guards Shyanne Sellers and Bri McDaniel.
Sellers recorded big games in wins against Harvard and Green Bay. The junior scored 25 points against the Crimson — one shy of her career high of 26 points against Iowa — and contributed 23 points and nine rebounds against the Phoenix.
McDaniel was expected to take a major leap this season and has impressed in outings against Green Bay and Niagara. The sophomore’s 19 points and clutch free throw shooting — 11-12 from the line — propelled Maryland to a 68-59 win over the Phoenix, and McDaniel contributed 18 points, four assists and five steals in her first start of the season against the Purple Eagles.
With its injuries, Maryland’s bench —mostly freshmen — will see more time on the court as the team gains more practice from playing at home and plays a lighter schedule.
“Their confidence is increasing,” Frese said. “… December is a really good month for us because we’re going to have to be able to build that depth off the bench.”
Five-star freshman Riley Nelson has seen her minutes sharply increase for the Terps over the past four games, averaging about 26 minutes a game compared to just under nine minutes the first part of the season — the guard’s playing time will likely increase with the injuries to Briggs and Chardon. Nelson had her best game of the season against Niagara, scoring 15 points on 7-11 shooting with two assists.
“I think the more under control the more poised you are,” Nelson said. “Just settling down and not letting the game speed you up.”
George Mason has already secured a power five win after taking down Pittsburgh 60-52 at home last month as part of its best start to a season.
Senior guard Sonia Smith is the catalyst of the Patriots’ offense, leading the team in points (13.3 per game). She has scored at least 10 points in every game so far this season.
Freshman guard Kennedy Harris has impressed off the bench for the Patriots. She earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 13 after averaging 12 points a game over her first three collegiate games.
Maryland’s defense will need to focus on both guards to give George Mason its first loss of the season.
