No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball dominates Rutgers, 88-41, behind three-point barrage

Photo courtesy of Grayson Belanger/Maryland Athletics.

It would have been easy for No. 8 Maryland to overlook its matchup with Rutgers on Thursday night — seven of its next eight games come against ranked opponents. Instead, the Terps (16-1, 4-1 B1G) maintained focus and won another game in dominating fashion, beating Rutgers (8-8, 0-5 B1G) 88-41. 

Addi Mack, Yarden Garzon, and Rainey Welson combined for 13 threes in another blowout victory for the Terps.

Garzon proved once again why she has the green light from beyond the arc. She was a perfect six for six from three — her third time making three or more threes in a game. The senior has made a three point shot in every single game this season.

“Our playing style is playing fast,” Garzon said. “I feel like it’s part of Maryland DNA and we try to do our best in that.” 

Maryland started the game hot from three, knocking down their first five three point shots from five different players. Their three point shooting never wavered, as they finished the game 16-25 from three – a whopping 64 percent.

“I loved our start,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “Anytime you can start 5-5 from the three point line with five different players scoring it sets the tone.”

The defense executed well once again, forcing 10 turnovers and holding the Scarlet Knights to just four made field goals in the opening 20 minutes of the game. Not a single Rutgers player made more than one field goal in the first half. After ending the first frame with an 11 point lead, the Terps were able to extend it to a commanding 28 points by the end of the half. 

“We were able to change our defenses, going from man to zone,” said Frese. “That’s going to be really important for us . . . big picture.”

Rainey Welson had her best game of the season thus far, hitting four threes. Maryland has been looking for more offensive consistency off the bench and Welson answered – the freshman had 12 points in just 16 minutes of play.

“It felt amazing just to see the ball go in,” said Welson. “My coaches and teammates have been telling me to keep shooting.”

After missing a couple of layups early in the game, standout freshman Addi Mack bounced back, finishing the game with 15 points. She contributed to the Terps’ outstanding performance from three, cashing in three of her own.

Coming off the best game of her career, Oluchi Okananwa continued her strong stretch of play. . The junior guard was disruptive on defense all game – she had back to back steals in the second quarter, causing a Scarlet Knights timeout. She finished with 10 points and three steals.

Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu posted another double-double for the second straight game, her third of the season. Saylor Poffenbarger finished with three points on only one shot, taking on more of a playmaking role offensively against Rutgers. She continues to be a leader for the Terps on both sides of the ball.

Although Maryland left Piscataway with another victory, the Scarlet Knights were able to expose some weaknesses that the Terps may struggle with in upcoming games against quality opponents.

Maryland turned the ball over 18 times tonight, which is on par with their average of 15.9 on the season. Despite the defense forcing an average of 21.6 turnovers a game, the overall turnover margin for the Terps sits at +5.7 – a number that will certainly have to improve.

Maryland outrebounded Rutgers by 18 and has a +15.4 margin on the season. The Terps have been an elite rebounding team in the Big Ten, due in part to size advantages over opponents – this will be something to watch against elite frontcourts such as UCLA.

Maryland also got into some early foul trouble – Okananwa, Poffenbarger, and Garzon were sidelined for lots of the second quarter. It will be important for the Terps to have their best players available in all parts of the game – bench scoring hasn’t been consistent. 

Maryland showed their best three point shooting performance of the season against the Scarlet Knights. This new wrinkle in the Terps’ offense has the potential to pay dividends in combination with their elite pace.

“I feel like we know the Big Ten is the best conference in the country,” said Garzon. “We know what we have to do to win every game.”

Maryland will now begin a stretch of five straight games against ranked conference opponents, starting with No. 19 Ohio State on Sunday at 6 p.m.