No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball dominates Purdue, 99-66, on Senior Day

Photo courtesy of Rose Fernandes/Maryland Athletics.

With only three games left on the schedule for No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball coming into Sunday’s matchup with Purdue, every contest is instrumental for seeding in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Terps (22-6, 10-6 B1G) handled their business today, pulling away early and beating the Boilermakers (12-15, 4-12 B1G) 99-66 on senior day in College Park.

It was a dominant effort from Maryland on the offensive side of the ball. The Terps shot an impressive 56 percent from the field and had five scorers in double figures. 

Maryland’s shooting success was not limited to paint looks – the Terps went 50 percent from beyond the arc. Five different Terps made more than one three, including Rainey Welson, who converted three of her four three-point attempts.

Oluchi Okananwa led the team with an efficient 26 points – she took only 16 shots. 

Ball movement was clearly a point of emphasis for Maryland. The Terps excelled at finding their teammates on cuts to the rim and for catch-and-shoot jumpers, resulting in 21 assists on 37 made FGs.

Maryland’s offense was keen on attacking the paint early on in the game. Okananwa led the way, scoring eight of the Terps’ first 12 points.

Maryland applied heavy defensive pressure throughout the first quarter. They threw strategic double-teams at Purdue’s ball handlers, resulting in seven Boilermaker turnovers in the period.

This defensive attack remained a problem for the Boilermakers throughout the game. Terps players frequently swarmed the passing lanes, picking up 21 points off turnovers.

Kyndal Walker led the team with nine points in the first quarter. She had the green light to shoot coming off screens, and she was not missing, converting on four straight shots to start the game. 

Walker finished with a career high 18 points.

“My teammates believed in me,” Walker said. “That’s the biggest thing for me, is belief.”

Addi Mack took initiative as a lead ballhandler later in the game, attacking the rim and opening up lanes for her teammates. The freshman scored 14 points and didn’t miss from the free throw line.

Saylor Poffenbarger hit some timely shots to keep Maryland’s energy up. She finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Terps bench came up with 31 points today. 

“Having that depth is important, especially being able to limit those minutes,” coach Brenda Frese said. “If we wanna play games consecutive days, we’ve gotta have contributions from a lot of players.

Despite Purdue’s size advantage, Maryland was stronger in the paint, outscoring the Boilermakers 34-30 over the course of the game. The Terps were not afraid to duck and weave around Purdue’s bigger defenders to find the perfect angle for a layup.

Maryland also earned 20 second-chance points from 13 offensive rebounds.

The Terps will have a chance to extend their win streak in their final home game of the regular season on Wednesday against Northwestern.