No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball demolishes No. 6 Iowa, 96-68

Brinae Alexander let her hand hang in the air as she let yet another three fly from the left wing, where she had planted herself in transition not caring about the open lane. Yet again the ball hit the bottom of the net. 

The crowd erupted along with the bench, applauding the Vanderbilt transfer who had now hit her sixth three of the game with more than half of the third quarter still left to go. The Terps now held a dominant 62-38 lead, and Alexander was already beating her season-high with 22 points after the bucket.

“That was definitely a heat check,” Alexander said. “The basket just felt so open.”

Behind the play of unexpected breakout performances from its bench, No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball dismantled No. 6 Iowa 96-68 in an unbelievable performance. 

Each team got off to quick starts, setting the tone as an up-tempo offensive affair. As expected, Iowa was shooting the lights out early, getting off to a quick 14-12 lead at the first media timeout.

As for Maryland, it had to grind out points a bit more, picking up four offensive rebounds early. 

A good sign for the Terps was the resurgence of sophomore guard Shyanne Sellers throughout the first quarter, who knocked down a pair of threes on her way to leading the team with six points. Sellers had only scored two points before fouling out against Michigan State in Maryland’s previous game.

By the quarter’s end, the game seemed to be living up to the hype, with Iowa holding a narrow 20-19 lead in an up-tempo battle. 

However, to begin the second quarter, it began to feel like deja vu as senior guard Diamond Miller picked up her second foul. Miller had exited early with foul trouble in the teams’ first matchup in Iowa City, which turned out to be a deciding factor in a convincing Iowa win.

“I wanted to choke her,” coach Brenda Frese joked with a laugh. “Just reminded me of when we were down there [at Iowa] when she picked up her second.” 

The Terps took the blow in stride though, going on an astounding 25-4 run to start the quarter despite Miller riding the bench. 

The Terps dominated the quarter as a result of a spectacular shooting display from the team, ultimately winning the quarter 27-8 and heading into halftime with a 46-28 lead. 

The deficit was the largest Iowa had faced heading into half this season, which was previously a 15-point hole against NC State. 

An unexpected surprise for the Terps was the unbelievable play of Alexander throughout the second quarter, who became a living flamethrower from three during the stretch. Alexander knocked down four-straight threes bringing her total to 16 points at half.

The only other Terp in double digits heading into the was another surprise with senior guard Lavender Briggs having an early 10 points of her own. The Florida transfer played with confidence throughout the half, knocking down both her three point attempts up to that point. 

As for Iowa’s star junior guard Caitlin Clark, it had been a rare off-night up to that point. Clark headed into halftime with just eight points on 3-8 shooting.

A large reason for Maryland’s dominance throughout the second quarter was its ability to live on the boards. At halftime, the Terps had already racked up 10 offensive boards, winning the rebounding battle 27-19. 

Senior guard Abby Meyers headed into the locker room with an astonishing eight rebounds, already well above her 5.2 average on the season. Three of the boards were on offense, where she has vastly improved her board-getting as of late. 

Alexander picked up right where she began in the first half, hitting a three in the first few seconds of her being on the court. But she wasn’t done there, knocking down yet another three in transition on the very next play. 

Clark continued to struggle throughout the third quarter, during which she only scored two points from the free throw line and one field goal attempt.

Briggs in addition to Sellers had been her primary defender for most of the quarter, and dominated the matchup on that end of the floor as well as on offense. Briggs hit her third three- pointer of the game while making hustle plays on the boards as well, now bringing her total to 17 points, joining Alexander in registering a season-high in points. 

The Terps held a commanding 73-49 entering the fourth, behind the unexpected play off the bench from Alexander and Briggs.

The Terps began to give a little flair in the fourth, with some Sellers celebrations after posting up numbers throughout the game. Sellers nearly put up a triple double with 17 points, 10 boards and seven assists. 

Miller also slipped into double figures towards the end of the game, finishing with 16 of her own and serving as the fourth Terp in double digits alongside Sellers, Alexander and Briggs, the latter two finishing 24 and 19 points respectively. 

Clark, although she played her best in the fourth quarter, finished with 18 points off 5-13 shooting in one of her worst performances of the season.

“They did a really good job with [guarding Clark],” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “That was really the best we’ve seen all year.”

Miller also slipped into double figures towards the end of the game, finishing with 16 of her own and serving as the fourth Terp in double digits.

The Terps continued to dominate throughout the fourth, cruising on their way to a statement win over the Hawkeyes.

“This team is going to go down as a really special group,” Frese said. “It’s a long ways from Indy, but it’s definitely a team…that’s been pretty incredible.”