No. 12 Maryland women’s basketball’s offense struggles in 99-67 loss to No. 3 UCLA

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

The last time No. 12 Maryland women’s basketball lost, its offense struggled to score from the field, and then-No. 19 Ohio State thrived on 3-point shots.

The same pattern occurred against No. 3 UCLA as Maryland shot just 37% from the field and UCLA shot 56.5% from three. The combination produced the same result for Maryland, falling 97-66 to UCLA at the Pauley Pavilion on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Maryland (17-3, 5-3 Big Ten) struggled on the glass early in the game, losing the rebounding battle 8-4 at the midway point of the first quarter. The rebounding advantage gave UCLA(17-1, 7-0 Big Ten) extra possessions and allowed the Bruins to find easy baskets due to defensive lapses. 

The Terps offense faced a tough task against UCLA’s versatile defense, which can switch throughout the court and is anchored by 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts, who provides elite rim protection. The switching caused problems for Maryland’s offense as it often settled for contested shots late in the shot clock.

“They play the right way, they make you pay for every mistake,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “They did a great job wearing us out.”

When Maryland did score, it often came from senior Saylor Poffenbarger. The guard was a standout for Maryland on offense in the first half, scoring nine points —  with multiple shots coming when the offense stagnated.

Those struggles carried into the second half as Maryland missed their first 5 shots and did not score until the 6:33 mark of the third quarter. 

Poffenbarger and junior guard Oluchi Okananwa were some of the few bright spots for Maryland’s offense on Sunday. The two combined for 40 of the team’s 67 points with Okananwa producing a team-high 25 points.

While the Bruins thrived on defense, their offense was just as good. UCLA was prolific from beyond the arc in the first half, shooting 9-for-17. The onslaught was led by senior guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, whose spot-up shooting was a focal point of the UCLA offense.

UCLA easily could’ve run away with the game, but 10 turnovers slowed it down, leading to 10 Maryland points and keeping the Terps within striking distance.

The Bruins demonstrated excellent ball movement throughout the game, frequently making the extra pass to find a mismatch. UCLA finished the game with an assist on 31 of its 40 made field goals.

“We had a really difficult time today,” Frese said. “We’ve got five freshmen going through this for the first time against a final four team.”

The Terps have not dropped consecutive games all season and will look to continue that trend as it returns College Park for a matchup with No. 11 Iowa on January 22.