No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball uses third quarter surge to cruise past Pittsburgh, 87-63

Maryland’s bench was already on its feet following the offensive explosion that had occurred throughout the third quarter, a quarter in which the Terps shot 5-6 from three already. 

Abby Meyers pushed the ball up the floor as the seconds ticked down in the quarter and threw a pass to Shyanne Sellers, who pulled up and nailed yet another three at the sound of the horn, and the bench went nuts directly behind her. 

The basket capped off a run that put the Terps up 22, their largest lead of the game heading into the fourth.

No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball rode out that momentum the rest of the game, blowing out Pittsburgh 87-63 in its final game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. 

Entering the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Pittsburgh’s scoring defense was ranked No. 11 in the nation, a central reason for the Panthers’ early success in the season.

During the first few minutes of the game, the Panthers’ defense looked to slow the tempo of the game to a pace they are more accustomed to. However, Maryland’s defense forced multiple mistakes that led to fast breaks, allowing the Terps to jump out to an early 11-5 lead following a 9-0 run.

Senior guard Diamond Miller asserted herself on the boards early, racking up five rebounds in the first quarter. Meyers led the scoring in the first with seven points on 3-6 shooting.

The Terps headed into the second quarter up 17-11.

After briefly going down by double digits to start the second quarter, the Panthers stormed back into the game with a 7-0 run in just 1:30 of game time. 

Although it seemed as if the game against Towson had revived them, the Terps’ shooting woes from their loss to DePaul returned in the second quarter, as the Terps shot just 35% from the field and 18% from three.

That said, the Maryland defense kept the Terps ahead 33-26 at half with the help. Miller finished the half with eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks, but Meyers led in scoring with nine. Sellers dominated at the front of the press, accumulating four steals that contributed to the nine Pittsburgh turnovers in the half. 

“I thought it started on the defensive end,” coach Brenda Frese said. “[We were] just ready to defend and came out really aggressive.”

Pittsburgh spread the wealth on offense in the first half, as four Panthers scored at least five points. Guards Avery Strickland and Channise Lewis led with six.

Early in the third quarter, Miller exited the game as she headed towards the locker room with frustration building. No injury was apparent. Without Miller on the floor, Maryland began to pull away with an 11-4 run that put them up 48-35, and forced a Pittsburgh timeout. 

Seniors Meyers and Lavender Briggs led the way during the third quarter, combining for 21 points. The two guards made crucial baskets to add to the Terps’ momentum early in the third, including an and-one from Briggs after she grabbed her own rebound and finished through contact to light up the Terps’ bench.

“Lav I thought shot the ball with a lot of confidence,” Frese said. “We’re going to need that kind of contribution from everybody.”

All of a sudden, Maryland began to score in bunches again. Senior guard Brinae Alexander hit three triples in a row to bring her total up to 14 points, and multiple Terps contributed to the ensuing run. 

“Credit to Nae,” Meyers said. “She came in ready, five for eight, really helped us out in the second half.”

Meyers couldn’t miss throughout the quarter either, as she shot 3-3 from the field with 12 points.

“Shots were falling that third quarter and it felt good,” Meyers said. “I knew I had the green light in terms of knocking down those threes.”

By the end of the third quarter, the Terps were up 22, 69-47, as a result of the offensive explosion.

“On the offensive end when we’re sharing the basketball like we did today, [with] 21 assists, our offense was really really easy,” Frese said.

Miller was notably absent from the floor as Frese rode the momentum other Terps provided. Miller continued to be exempt from the floor throughout the fourth quarter, as multiple bench players got minutes as a result of the large lead.

“There’s a really high standard that we hold Diamond and this team to,” Frese said. “As you know, one of our leaders and an All-American, there’s a standard of how hard we want to play on both ends of the floor all the time … She’ll bounce back, she’s a tremendous player that just wants to win.”

The Terps’ offense continued to dominate throughout the fourth even with their bench in the game, adding to their lead as they went up 85-56 at the 4:14 minute mark.

All of Maryland’s freshmen got some experience down the stretch as the Terps coasted to the win. 

Meyers finished with 23 points and Alexander finished with 17, both season highs.

The Terps will look to make it three wins in a row next time out, on the road at No. 7 Notre Dame on Thursday in the ACC/Big Ten challenge.