No. 9 Maryland women’s basketball dominates Bethune-Cookman in 95-49 victory

Photo by Kevin Snyder/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

In Maryland women’s basketball’s first ever matchup with Bethune-Cookman, the Terps wasted no time in setting the tone against the Wildcats. 

No. 9 Maryland women’s basketball (6-0, 0-0 B1G) dominated Bethune-Cookman (1-4, 0-0 SWAC) on Thursday night, jumping out to an early lead and cruising to a 95-49 victory. The win extended the Terps’ win streak to six and continued their undefeated season, along with their recent stretch of dominance against non-conference opponents – Maryland has a point differential of +186 this season. 

The Terps opened the game on a 20-0 run in which they forced six turnovers, including four in the first four possessions for the Wildcats. Their defensive pressure led to a plethora of open looks at the rim – Maryland had 21 points from turnovers in the first half alone.

Despite the absence from Big Ten freshman of the week Addi Mack, the Terps were able to attack with a balanced offense. Breanna Williams, Kyndal Walker, Kaylene Smikle, Oluchi Okananwa, and Yarden Garzon all finished with double-digit scoring. Maryland shot 59 percent from the field and scored 95 points – the sixth time in as many games that they’ve put up at least 80.

Okananwa once again stood out on both ends of the floor with her impressive speed. The Duke transfer had multiple possessions where she secured the steal and went coast-to-coast in transition. She finished the game with 13 points, four steals, and four rebounds – three coming on the offensive end.

Walker had a breakout performance after being inserted into the starting lineup. The redshirt freshman had a career high 13 points on an efficient 5-7 shooting, along with two steals and a block on the defensive end. 

“The biggest thing for me is being versatile,” Walker said. “It was just my teammates allowing me to put them in the right positions and vice versa.” 

Maryland continued to dominate defensively, outdoing Bethune-Cookman in every single category. The Terps forced 26 turnovers and held the Wildcats to 33 percent shooting. They finished with five more blocks, 10 more steals, and 19 more rebounds than Bethune-Cookman. 

“We really wanted to go into this game consistently defending and rebounding and I thought those two areas we did really well,” said coach Brenda Frese. “We had a goal of holding [Bethune Cookman] under 50 points which we were able to do.”

The Terps’ 95 points was the most that they had scored all season. The offense was in control the entire game. They capitalized on turnovers and picked their spots in the halfcourt all game long, finishing the game with 23 fastbreak points and 16 assists. Every single Terp that touched the court scored.

“It’s a coach’s dream to see every player score in your box score,” said Frese.

Maryland has another home matchup against George Mason this Sunday at 2:30 pm.