No. 19 Maryland women’s basketball downs No. 17 Baylor in tight back-and-forth battle, 73-68

Maryland led by 10 at halftime, but a shaky third quarter allowed Baylor to get back into the game.

Diamond Miller took control, and at one point roared at her bench before shushing the hostile Baylor crowd after she left her defender in the dust on a step back in the quarter. 

Miller’s performance keyed the Terps to victory, as No. 19 Maryland women’s basketball took down No. 17 Baylor, 73-68.

“You saw with Diamond her ability to just take over the game, and it was special to watch,” coach Brenda Frese said.

The game started out in a defensive battle, as the Bears shot 1-7 from beyond the arc in the first quarter. However, due to a whopping seven Maryland turnovers, Baylor found itselves ahead 13-12.

“Obviously we have to cut those down, it’s just taking possessions away from us, but I loved our response,” Frese said.

Maryland’s press seemed to take Baylor out of its offensive rhythm, as the Bears often started possessions with less than 15 seconds on the play clock.

Miller started to figure it out in the second quarter, propelling Maryland out in front. The senior guard scored 12 in the quarter, including a beautiful euro step in transition to stretch Maryland’s lead out to nine.

The Terps used a dominant Miller quarter to stretch their lead to ten at the half, 36-26. Not only was Miller good, but Frese’s defense completely shut down the Baylor offensive attack.

Baylor didn’t score over the last two minutes of the first half. Frese seemed willing to let Baylor swing the ball around the perimeter and shoot, and the strategy was effective in the half. The Bears shot just six percent from three.

Jaden Owens, the Bears star point guard, was shut down. Senior Elisa Pinzan won the battle of the veteran point guards in the first half, as Owens shot just 1-5 from the field.

The start of the second half was a different story, as Baylor opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run. Baylor improved its defensive ball pressure as numerous Terps recorded turnovers. Maryland turned the ball over on three straight possessions in the quarter, including one out of a timeout.

Baylor freshman guard Sarah Andrews caught on fire out of the break. She scored 21 of her 25 points in the second half.

“She is so hard to guard downhill which allows her to be such a great scorer,” Frese said.

The Terps settled in as the quarter went on, and entered the fourth up 53-47.

After three combined turnovers within the first minute-and-a-half of the quarter, senior guard Abby Meyers connected from deep for the first points of the quarter. Pinzan drilled a three pointer on the next Maryland possession to put the Terps up 59-47, which caused Baylor to call a timeout.

Baylor did not go down easily, as the Bears battled after the timeout and cut the Maryland lead down to four with three minutes to go. Miller hit two clutch three throws to put Maryland ahead by six. 

Up four with 1:30 to go, senior guard Faith Masonius grabbed a key offensive rebound. Another failed Baylor box out allowed Meyers to grab another offensive board, which forced Baylor to foul.

“That is a mentality to go get it on the glass, and we were just really focused,” Frese said.

Owens pushed the ball in transition with Meyers on her, but the length of the Princeton transfer forced Owens to shuffle her feet, turning the ball over to the Terps.

Miller put the game away with another two free throws, completing the Terps’ win, 73-68.

Miller was the answer for Frese all day long, as the star had her best game of the season. She finished with 32 points and ten rebounds, her second double-double of the year. 

“Diamond is the best competitor I have ever played with,” Meyers said. “She really carried us on her back.”

Pinzan recorded her best game as a Terp, as she finished 4-6 from the field with six assists on the day. She was a key catalyst in some of Maryland’s threes as well, pushing in transition and finding open shooters.

“Elisa’s ball security was huge … When I recruited her I saw her ability to make big plays in close games, she was a huge part of our success tonight,” Frese said.

All in all, it was easily Maryland’s best performance from beyond the arc. The Terps shot 53% from three, a season-high. 

Maryland will look to keep its winning ways rolling when the Terps take on DePaul on Friday as part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off.