No. 16 Maryland women’s basketball sweeps West Coast trip with 81-73 win vs Washington

Photo courtesy of University of Maryland Athletics

No. 16 Maryland women’s basketball found itself down 27-19 entering the second quarter after trailing by as many as 15 points in the opening quarter. The Terps — who dominated from the get-go Thursday night against Oregon — needed a comeback to continue their road success. 

A 19-4 run to open the second quarter gave Maryland a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Nine more points from Kaylene Smikle helped as the Terps flipped a double-digit deficit into a double-digit advantage within 10 minutes of action.

Maryland (19-5, 9-4) looked to wrap up its two-game West Coast trip on a high note by securing the program’s first-ever win against Washington (14-10, 5-7). The Terps did exactly that, overcoming a 23-8 first-quarter deficit in their 81-73 victory on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena.

“Just really proud of this group, especially overcoming a slow start to get a really tough win on the road,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “Excited for us to be able to go back home, back-to-back.”

Maryland got off to a quick start in its win over Oregon three days prior, but it could not replicate that against Washington. The Terps missed their first six shots of the contest and knocked down just two of their first nine.

Washington guard Elle Ladine recorded 20 points in her last game against Penn State and carried her strong performance into Sunday’s contest. Ladine — the Huskies’ leading scorer at 15.7 points a game — scored eight of their first 13 points to propel them out to a 15-4 advantage. She finished with 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the field.

The Huskies continued to add to their lead as a three-pointer from guard Chloe Briggs opened up Washington’s lead to 23-8 — its largest of the game. 

But then Smikle took over. She splashed a 3-point jumper to help Maryland get back in the contest, her eighth point of a game-high 18 in the first half. She ended with a career-high 36 points on 13-for-18 shooting while adding eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

“Clearly [Kaylene] was sensational,” Frese said. “Just an absolute dog, a player like her when she’s feeling it, it was kind of a great way to start in that third quarter. […] When she’s sick, it’s amazing that [she] can put up 36 points.”

An 11-4 run to close out the first quarter, led by Shyanne Sellers, Smikle and Saylor Poffenbarger, cutting the Terps’ deficit to eight.

One of the biggest factors that led to the Terps’ success was its ability to rebound. Maryland dominated the glass as it outrebounded Washington 40-29. Twenty-seven of those rebounds were offensive rebounds, leading to 14 second-chance points.

The Terps’ size and length also played a key role in their ability to get easy buckets, as Maryland dominated in the paint, scoring 42 points in the paint. The Terps’ ability to score in tight also allowed them to frequently get to the free-throw line. Maryland added 16 points from the line while recording 11 more free-throw attempts than Washington.

The Terps’ defense also drastically improved after the opening quarter. The Terps surrendered 27 points in the first quarter but allowed just 24 points over the next two quarters.

After going scoreless in the Terps’ last game, Sellers found her groove and started to look like the player she was before her injury. While Sellers didn’t have her most efficient outing, she dished out a team-high five assists.

“I feel like we are starting to get our rhythm without [Bri] and with [Shyanne] working her way back,” Frese said. “She continues to get stronger and stronger every game.”

The combo of Smikle and Sellers accounted for over half of Maryland’s points and 12 boards.

Despite the duo’s offensive output, Washington embarked on a 12-0 run to open the fourth quarter, cutting the Terps’ advantage to four. Guard Sayvia Sellers and forward Dalayah Daniels each contributed six points, most of which came off turnovers from Maryland.

But Smikle had the answer, embracing the contact for a 3-point play to move the score to 70-63. The Terps piled on the pressure as they flipped two of the Huskies’ 15  turnovers into four free points and extended their lead back to 11.

“Once I noticed in transition that they weren’t able to stop me going downhill, after timeouts my coaches kept telling me to go downhill,” Smikle said. “I kept going and I wasn’t stopped.”

While Washington brought the game back to a two-possession game, Maryland held off any last-second push.

The Terps will return to College Park for two games, beginning with Nebraska (16-7) on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.