Maryland women’s basketball earns dominant 107-35 victory over Saint Francis

Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics

No. 11 Maryland women’s basketball (6-0) needed just 90 seconds to open up a lead against Saint Francis (Pa.), something that it wouldn’t relinquish. The Terps went on a 32-1 first-quarter run and never trailed the rest of the way in its 107-35 win.

Forward Allie Kubek’s second rebound of the contest led to the Terps’ first transition opportunity, and they made the most of it. An outlet pass from guard Shyanne Sellers found the hands of guard Kaylene Smikle. The red-hot junior knocked down the three-pointer. 

“That’s Maryland basketball,” Smikle said. “We want to turn teams over and want to play aggressive from the jump.”

After a much-needed week off without a game, Maryland looked well-rested and was firing on all cylinders early. The Terps wrapped up their two-game homestand in dominant fashion on Sunday.

The Red Flash (1-5) opened the scoring with a layup from forward Juliana Gibson, but that was all the offense they got in the opening quarter. 

A feed down low to Kubek gave her an easy layup opportunity and pushed the Terps in front, 4-2. 

“Just the post presence that we have,” Kubek said. “Christina was looking for me, a bunch of high lows. I think that our size advantage really helped.”

Then, Smikle took over. She added a layup and splashed three three-pointers, scoring 15 of Maryland’s first 23 points in the contest. Smikle – who entered the game 12-16 from behind the arc – went a perfect 3-3 against Saint Francis in the opening half. 

Head coach Brenda Frese brought in some bench players after three minutes of action, all of which made immediate contributions. The Terps finished the contest with 35 bench points.

Guard Bri McDaniel was on the court for 48 seconds, before she added her first points of the game, attacking the paint for an easy layup.

Just minutes later, Bri McDaniel knocked down a three-pointer, moving the score to 28-3. Guard Sarah Te-Biasu and forward Christina Dalce wrapped up the opening period each with a bucket.

Maryland had all the momentum heading into the second quarter, and it never let up.

The Terps kept their foot on the gas pedal, going on another big run, 21-2. Back-to-back jumpers from Te-Biasu extended Maryland’s lead to 36. With five minutes left in the second quarter, Smikle had 20 points, marking her fifth consecutive 20+ point game. 

Poffenbarger, guard Mir McLean and forward Amari DeBerry rained in jumpers, to make it 59-7. 

Seven points from Maryland to close out the second quarter further solidified its grasp on the contest. The Terps headed into the locker rooms up 66-9 at the break.

“We just want to continue to play to our level, to our standard,” Frese said. “I told them we needed to come out and play like we were down 20. Those are habits that we want to build.”

Smikle kept her offensive outburst going, finishing off a layup to bring Maryland’s lead to 63. With the Terps up 60 points, Kubek added five more points, including consecutive layups. 

Saint Francis knocked down two consolation jumpers from behind the arc, almost matching its first-half offensive production.

McLean closed out the third quarter with a second-chance layup, emphasizing Maryland’s dominance on the glass. The Terps had 44 rebounds after 30 minutes of action. 

“We were really aggressive, and that’s really hard to do when you talk about the just the way we shot the ball, to have those opportunities,” Frese said. “Rebounding has always been something we’ve really been emphasizing.” 

With the starters sitting out, Maryland’s bench carried the load. But offensive production certainly slipped, as the Terps scored seven points in the first five minutes of the final quarter.

DeBerry and McDaniel got four easy paint points, helping catapult Maryland to one of its largest victories in program history. 

The Terps didn’t score for over three minutes of game time, forcing Frese to bring the starters back in for the final minutes. 

And they got the offense going again. Dalce ended the drought with two free throws before a three-pointer from Sellers put Maryland over the 100-point barrier. Freshman Ava McKennie knocked down her first jumper of the game, putting the Terps ahead 105-32.