No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball uses big third quarter to surge past Illinois, 82-71

Abby Meyers ripped down yet another offensive rebound, the third in the possession, as Maryland looked to take its first lead since 4:25 left in the first quarter. 

The game was deadlocked at 43, and Meyers, feeling the defender behind her with no one in between her and the hoop, put the ball in the air as she felt herself get shouldered from behind, earning herself an and-one as the ball fell through the hoop.

Everyone in the arena jumped to their feet, joining her cry of elation as the Terps took the lead and never looked back.

No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball used the energy to assert itselves throughout the remainder of the game, beating Illinois, 82-71, in a game that showcased the Terps’ perseverance in the face of adversity. 

Both offenses struggled holding onto the ball early in the game, as the teams combined for seven turnovers at the first timeout, at which Illinois led 7-6. 

Despite its turnovers and difficulty in the paint, Illinois could not miss from behind the arc, starting the game 4-4 from three thanks to two threes a piece from sophomore forward Brynn Shoup-Hill and senior guard Jada Peebles.

The Illini didn’t stop missing from their though, proceeding to finish the quarter 4-5 on their last five field goal attempts and 5-5 from three.

Shoup-Hill, who was averaging 6.3 points on the season coming into the game, already passed that total with nine points off a perfect 3-3 shooting from behind the arc in the quarter, giving Illinois a much needed boost with the injured junior guard Genesis Bryant, who entered averaging 14.8 points per game.

Illinois led 20-14 heading into the second. 

Maryland started the second quarter with a 6-0 run to tie the game even, as the Terps played a much cleaner offense getting out in transition, finding open cutters and exploiting open lanes.

Illinois wouldn’t be held for long though, proceeding to go on a 10-0 run in response to the tie. The Illini could not miss from behind the arc, shooting 7-10 from three up to this point. 

Peebles proceeded to have yet another great quarter from behind the arc, knocking down two of her three attempts, bringing her to 4-5 in the game. Peebles had averaged 6.1 points per game entering the game, and she just about doubled that number at halftime with 12. 

“It was great to see Jada come off the bench and really have a big game,” Illinois coach Shauna Green said. “She’s one you know that early on was really shooting at a high level and was a huge spark off the bench.”

Maryland also repeated its first quarter performance from behind the arc, where it shot 0-10 compared to Illinois’ 8-12 going into the half. 

Senior guard Diamond Miller was the only Terp in double figures with 12, although Illinois’ own offensive star, junior guard Makira Cook, was right there with her with 10 of her own. 

The Terps were in desperate need of finding their shooting stroke as they were down 37-28 at halftime in large part to their inability to knock down open threes. 

“That first half was a tough one to stomach, but terrific response out of the locker room,” coach Brenda Frese said.

Coming out of halftime, the Terps once again made a push to take the lead, starting on a 11-2 run. The Terps continued to push the initiative in the fast break, where they had scored nearly half of their 39 points in.

The Terps’ press caused Illinois problems all throughout the first half of the third quarter, forcing numerous turnovers on their way to an unbelievable run.

Meyers hit an and-one to give them the lead and it was all gas no breaks from there, as the Terps couldn’t seem to stop creating highlight plays in the transition, including a nasty euro step from sophomore guard Shyanne Sellers that led to a pass to a wide open layup and yet another and-one from Meyers that lifted the Terps to a 59-45 lead in the fourth.

“Being able to get those defensive stops and convert them to offense…the push we needed came at the perfect time,” senior guard/forward Faith Masonius said.

Maryland still hadn’t made a three (0-12) but flexed its muscles on defense and in the paint, generating much of its offense there. 

Meyers and Miller could not be stopped, combining for 23 in the quarter.

The Terps controlled the quarter, out-scoring the Illini 31-8 on their way to completely flipping the script of the game. 

Miller’s dominance would not stop there, as she scored another eight in the fourth before the game had even hit the five-minute mark in the quarter. The quick spurt of points allowed the Terps to cruise the rest of the way, keeping Illinois in a double-digit hole throughout the fourth quarter.

Miller finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and four assists, just one point shy of tying her career-high.

The Terps owned the paint, where they scored 56 of their 82 points. The number is all the more impressive considering they were unable to knock down a three on any of their 17 attempts in the game.

“Those have been our most successful teams…when you can challenge them to win in different ways and they’re not just married to winning one way,” Frese said. “I think that bodes really well for this team.”

The Terps will look to continue this stretch of wins at Michigan State on Saturday.