No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball’s undefeated February ends with loss to No. 8 Michigan

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Athletics.

No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball entered its matchup against No. 8 Michigan looking for a seventh straight win and an undefeated February.

Michigan’s Olivia Olson had other plans. 

The Wolverines guard put up 28 points on over 60 percent shooting, leading Michigan to an 87-69 win.

In their previous matchup, the Terps (23-7, 11-7) suffered a 26-point defeat to the Wolverines (24-5, 14-4) – the largest win against Maryland in Michigan history.

The Terps knew they’d have their hands full on the defensive end in a game that featured two of the country’s best offenses. Michigan is the sole team ahead of Maryland in rebounding margin in the Big Ten, at +15.6. 

Olson came out on fire in the first half, scoring 21 points – with only one missed shot. The sophomore guard was coming off a career-high 31 points in an overtime thriller against Ohio State, and she stayed hot against the Terps, finishing with 28 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in 34 minutes. 

Slowing down Olson wasn’t the only problem the Terps had defensively. The Wolverines were consistently able to penetrate the Terps defense and create easy looks from all three levels – leading to an efficient 57 percent clip from the field.

Syla Swords poured it on Maryland as well, scoring 17 points. Mila Holloway scored 12 points and led Michigan in assists with six. The Wolverines attack was balanced – they hit ten threes and racked up 48 points in the paint.

Michigan was up to the challenge inside, neutralizing the Terps on the boards. They capitalized on Maryland’s turnover problems, forcing 21 turnovers and gaining 32 points off them. 

“I thought it started in the first half where we didn’t play to our strengths,” said head coach Brenda Frese. “Points off turnovers were the story of this game.”

Maryland’s offense once again struggled in the halfcourt – a theme throughout the season. The Terps had very few opportunities in transition, scoring two points in the fast break. Although Maryland shot better from three than its previous game, the Terps never came back from their 18 point deficit.

After averaging 24 points in February, Oluchi Okananwa finished with 19 points – making her Maryland’s leading scorer. Yarden Garzon came alive from beyond the arc, knocking down four triples after hitting just three over her last two games.

Izzy-Ozzy Momodu returned after missing the last two games, contributing 12 points off the bench. The Terps bench averaged 22.8 points per game on their win streak – but Kyndal Walker and Rainey Welson had little offensive production on Saturday. 

With the loss, the Terps will be a seven seed in the Big Ten tournament. They’ll have a single bye instead of a double – the tournament will be crucial in determining if Maryland will host games in the NCAA tournament. As of now, they’re a projected four seed.

“Hopefully this is a wake up call for us,” said Frese. “If we can learn some valuable lessons out of this game . . . great things are in store for this group.”