No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball used season-best shooting night from three to obliterate No. 6 Iowa

Brinae Alexander had been slumping from deep. The Vanderbilt transfer had shot 15% from three in her last eight games coming into a massive conference matchup against No. 8 Iowa.

Even Alexander said how she was not feeling the most confident in her shot lately, leaving questions over how aggressive the senior guard/forward would be. 

Alexander found herself open behind the three-point arc in the opening frame and hoisted her first three of the game. Instead of getting her on track, the shot clanked off the back iron, adding to her slump.

But that trend would soon come to a screaming halt. Alexander canned her next three, then the next two, bringing the Xfinity Center crowd to their feet.

The night then came to a culmination for Alexander, who has said part of the reason she came to Maryland was to play in big-time matchups. After nailing her last three shots from deep, Alexander showed no hesitation on the fourth on an open look from the left wing.

“The basket just felt so open … [the fourth] was definitely a heat check,” Alexander said.

Splash. Alexander connected on her fourth three of the second quarter, an unreal four in a row to turn the game around and put the Terps in front by 20.

The Hawkeyes were forced to call two timeouts on the mini Alexander run. Maryland teammates swarmed her each time, with their mouths agape as if they were in shock of their teammate’s hot steak.

“Everyone was just like ‘yes, she’s finally back!’” Alexander said.

Alexander finished with six threes and a game-high 24 points. The six connects from deep tied a career-high, while the 24 points was a season-high.

It was not just Alexander who exploded from beyond the arc against Iowa. It was another SEC guard that also came off the bench for the Terps and dominated the Hawkeyes.

Senior guard Lavender Briggs, who has struggled at points this year coming off injury troubles the season prior, made her mark. The Florida transfer scored a season-high 19 points on 3-3 shooting from deep, including a transition three in the third quarter that put the Terps up 24 against the No. 8 team in the country.

“Let’s f-cking go!” Briggs screamed with her arms raised, a moment that made the senior laugh postgame.

“I have been working hard and I have had a tough season, so it felt great. I definitely don’t show a lot of emotion … I think that was my first time ever throwing my hands up like that,” Briggs said.

Unfortunately for Iowa, it had not planned for a barrage of Briggs threes heading into the matchup. 

“I mean obviously Lavender Briggs hasn’t been hitting threes like that all year,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “She really stepped up and hit some good ones tonight.”

As a team, the Terps shot a stunning 54% from deep against Iowa. Earlier this season in Iowa City, Maryland shot 2-18 from deep. Alexander and Briggs combined for four points, and neither connected from three.

That changed at home, as 14 threes helped propel the Terps to a 28-point victory over a top ten team. But even Brenda Frese did not think that her team would come out of the gates like they did.

“It makes no sense right, two games ago we were 0-17 from the three-point line,” Frese said. “There’s always that annoying voice in the back of my head like ‘how long are we going to keep this up for?’”

For a team that shot 35% from deep coming into the game, not every night will end in a season-best shooting night. For Alexander and company though, they are just going to appreciate the magical night that happened on Tuesday.

“It gets me feeling really good moving forward,” Alexander said. “We’re still playing with a chip on our shoulder because I feel people have underestimated us as a team.”