No. 21 Maryland women’s basketball continues its road success in 85-79 win vs Northwestern

Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland Athletics

With five minutes remaining, graduate guard Sarah Te-Biasu drilled a 3-point shot, putting the Terps up 13.

The Terps seemed as if they were going to coast to their 21st victory of the season, but a 7-0 run by Northwestern in less than 30 seconds cut the lead to six, as Maryland’s late-game struggles linger late in the season. 

Maryland adjusted by quickly moving the ball, preventing Northwestern’s trap defense from getting set.

Backed by a stout defense, No. 21 Maryland (21-6, 11-5 Big Ten) continued its road success and avoided a disastrous loss to Northwestern (9-16, 2-12 Big Ten), winning 85-79 on Thursday at Welsh Ryan Arena.

“I think that on the road, we know we have to play more together and give teams [the] first punch,” junior guard Kaylene Smikle said. “Every time we’re away, we always buy into that.” 

After Maryland women’s basketball head coach Brenda Frese criticized her players for not playing full speed on Monday against Michigan, the Terps came out aggressive on both sides of the ball against Northwestern.

Maryland forced 22 turnovers in the game, leading to 27 points to hold off Northwestern’s comeback attempt. 

Maryland forced nine Northwestern turnovers in the first quarter, leading to 11 points – half of their first-quarter total –  as the Terps held a seven-point lead. 

Eight of those first-quarter points came from leading scorer Smikle, who came out aggressive after scoring in single digits the previous two games. 

Smikle scored the Terps’ first points with an and-one layup and continued to find her spots on offense, finishing with a team-high 23 points. 

After playing ten different players in the first half against Michigan, Frese used a similar strategy against Northwestern – using nine players in the first half. Graduate guard Mir McLean stepped up once again, scoring six of the eight first-half bench points, while Emily Fisher and Amari DeBerry played crucial fourth-quarter minutes.

“I like where they’ve come in,” Frese said. “They’ve been really impactful, helping us extend that depth we need.” 

In the second quarter, Saylor Poffenbarger exploded for the Terps. She scored 12 points from all different levels –layups, three-pointers, and free throws. 

Poffenbarger shot 5-5 from the free-throw line in the first half, awarding Maryland for its aggression. The Terps shot 16 free throws, knocking down 14 of them, while Northwestern only made six on 12 attempts.

Despite not making a field goal in the final 3:55 off the half,  the Terps’ lead grew to 18 points at the break. 

After making their first two field goals of the second half, the Terps continued to struggle to score from the field. Maryland started just 2-for-9, allowing Northwestern to go on a quick 6-0 run and forcing a Maryland timeout. 

But, the timeout did not help as Maryland missed seven straight shots, enabling the Wildcats to cut the deficit to just ten. 

Out of the media timeout, Poffenbarger broke the scoring drought with a second-chance layup. The Terps’ complementary defense then forced a three-minute Northwestern scoring drought to keep a comfortable lead. 

But in the final quarter, the Terps struggled to break the Wildcats’ press defense, allowing Northwestern to quickly cut Maryland’s lead to as few as four points. 

The Terps then put in senior guard Shyanne Sellers, allowing them to close the game with a win.

“We need our guard play to start learning from these mistakes,” said Frese. “Like [Sellers], you can’t have seven turnovers. Those are impactful turnovers.” 

The Terps now wait a week for their next game as they travel to Bloomington to take on Indiana on Thursday at 7 p.m.