No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball’s defense smothers Wisconsin in 97-59 victory

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Athletics

Coming off a 10-day holiday break, No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball looked to shake off the rust quickly against Wisconsin – the first game of a critical two-month stretch of Big Ten basketball.

In their annual Gold Rush game, the Terps wasted no time striking it rich. They opened the game on a 14-0 run and never trailed in a 97-59 win over the Badgers at the Xfinity Center in College Park on Monday. The Terps have now scored more than 90 points in six straight games.

“I thought we were ready from the tip,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “ I thought we set the tone with our defense and rebounding.”

Guard Oluchi Okananwa led the Terps with another standout performance: a career-high 28 points on an efficient 10-for-15 from the field. Okananwa continues to pace Maryland with her speed and ability to turn turnovers into fastbreak points. She set her season high in steals with five in the first half and finished with six, tying a career high.

“I think being a part of this program and being coached by amazing people just helped me break out,” Okananwa said.

The Terps picked up where they left off defensively, forcing 23 turnovers, including 11 in the first quarter alone.

Maryland’s domination continued in the second quarter, holding the Badgers to just two field goals. Threes from Okananwa, senior guard Yarden Garzon and redshirt senior Saylor Poffenbarger helped extend Maryland’s halftime lead to 43-18.

After a much-needed two games of rest, Poffenbarger continued her high-level play, contributing 14 points, four rebounds and two assists. Poffenbarger excelled as one of the Terps’ primary ballhandlers with zero turnovers. She also finished the game with three steals.

The first half featured a preview of what may be Frese’s go-to rotation for conference play. The starting lineup consisted of guard Addi Mack, Poffenbarger, Okananwa, forward Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu, and Garzon with guard Kyndal Walker, guard/forward Mir McLean, forward Marya Boiko and guard Rainey Welson being the primary pieces coming off the bench.

In Mack’s seventh start of the season, she continued to provide a spark for the Terps offense. Mack finished with 15 points and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe. Garzon once again led the team with three made three-pointers and 15 points to go with seven rebounds.

“I think it’s really important for me to impact the game in any way that I can,” Mack said. “Those boards that I do get helps us push the ball in transition faster.”

Getting out in transition and capitalizing on fastbreaks continues to be the Terps’ offensive identity. They racked up 24 fastbreak points to the Badgers’ two, along with shooting a smooth 48% from the field overall. Maryland also dominated in the paint, outscoring Wisconsin down low by 14 and getting to the line 14 more times than the Badgers.

Frese utilized press and trap defenses to badger the Wisconsin offense. Wisconsin was never able to find a consistent offensive rhythm, shooting 30% from the field and 18% from three. The Terps gathered a majority of the Badgers’ misses, outrebounding them 51-28.

“The intensity we play at makes a difference,” Frese said. “It’s fun when you put a scout together and see that they understand it.”

After a slow couple of minutes to begin the third quarter, the pace picked up after Wisconsin guard Kyrah Daniels and Mack traded baskets. The third frame was the highest scoring as the two squads combined for 52 points. The Terps entered the fourth with a 33-point lead, which led to extended minutes for freshman bigs Boiko, Nicole Fritea and Breanna Williams.

The Terps will travel to Urbana-Champaign for a New Year’s Day matchup against Illinois. 

“It’s a big week with three games in seven days, but a really good start coming after the holiday,” Frese said.