No. 15 Maryland women’s basketball’s comeback effort falls short in 78-85 loss to No. 10 Iowa

Photo courtesy of Grayson Belanger/Maryland Athletics.

After a miraculous nine-point comeback in the final minute to send the game to overtime, No. 15 Maryland fell short to No. 10 Iowa in their third ranked conference loss.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Oluchi Okananwa came alive in the second, scoring 14 points. It was her three-pointer with nine seconds in the fourth that sent the Terps to overtime.

Maryland had a chance in overtime, but Okananwa and Yarden Garzon both fouled out, and the Terps were unable to pull it out on Thursday night, falling 78-85 to the Hawkeyes. 

Maryland knew that it would have its hands full with the Iowa frontcourt. Senior forward Hannah Stuelke and sophomore center Ava Heiden have been dominant on the season, averaging a combined 30 points per game.

The two of them made their mark once again. Stuelke finished with a 12 point double-double, and Heiden finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds – along with a crucial layup in overtime. The Terps have continued to struggle against skilled bigs on the inside.

The first half for Maryland was flooded with familiar struggles that have plagued them in Big Ten play. The Terps lost the turnover battle, committing 10 to the Hawkeyes’ four. They also struggled with three point shooting — they had one make from deep to Iowa’s five in the opening 20 minutes. 

“We really struggled in the first three quarters,” said head coach Brenda Frese. “We dug ourselves into too big of a hole . . . and the foul trouble was really impactful.”

Iowa was able to take advantage of Maryland’s bigs by involving them in ball screens. The defense opted to stay under screens, leading to open looks for the Hawkeyes offense. Stuelke and Heiden were able to find success inside, combining for 14 points and nine rebounds in the first half. Taylor McCabe went three for four from beyond the arc.

Isismenme Ozzy-Momodu provided one of the gutsiest performances of the season for the Terps. Despite tweaking her knee early in the third quarter, she was able to log her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and gathering 12 rebounds. 

There have been consistent issues for Maryland – they continue to struggle with higher tier opponents, turnovers, the three-point line, foul trouble, and bench scoring.

It was another turnover filled game for the Terps. They finished with 17 turnovers, leading to 12 points for Iowa. Anything Maryland found some sort of offensive success, a charge or travel ended their position and allowed the Hawkeyes to settle in their half court offense.

“I thought Iowa made more plays than us today,” said Frese. “Everytime we tried to close the door there was an impactful play that they were able to make.”

There was a huge discrepancy at the three-point line – Iowa finished shooting 44 percent, while the Terps were at just 24 percent. Maryland struggles from beyond the arc have limited their offense, as opposing defenses have become more willing to let the Terps shoot threes while focusing their efforts on the paint.

Foul trouble heavily affected the Maryland offense. Yarden Garzon fouled out early in the fourth quarter. Okinawa and Ozzy-Momudu each racked up four fouls relatively quickly, leading to their absence for stretches of the game.

Kyndal Walker continues to be the sole beacon of consistency off the bench for the Terps, scoring 15 points. The other bench players who saw the court – Marya Boiko and Mir McLean – combined for just seven. Boiko and McLean average a combined eight points on the season.

“With every win and loss we get wisdom and lessons,” said Walker. “While it was a tough loss, there’s still things we got from this that we can build on.”

Maryland’s schedule doesn’t get any easier – the Terps’ next game is yet another ranked opponent, No. 25 Washington.

“The conference is going to keep you humble and hungry,” said Frese.