Preview: Caitlin Clark and No. 3 Iowa provides tall task for Maryland women’s basketball

Maryland women’s basketball faces one of its toughest tests of the season this weekend in Caitlin Clark and the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes.

3,424 career points from Iowa’s leader comes to College Park Saturday. The second all-time leading scorer in NCAA history, and likely the all-time leading scorer in a month, will be in the Xfinity Center. Last year’s Naismith Player of the Year and Wooden Award recipient will make her way into a sold-out crowd.

The list of accolades for Clark in her illustrious collegiate career fills long lists that will eventually be plastered across the halls of Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The importance for Maryland (12-9, 4-6 B1G) to defeat the Hawkeyes (20-2, 9-1 B1G) Saturday night can fill just as many halls. 

“Our kids really embrace the moments like this,” coach Brenda Frese said. “We brought them here because they want to be on the big stage and they take pride in defending home for it. We’re looking forward to the matchup.”

The Terps enter the game as a team losers of three straight. A team that is battle-strung with injuries — including leading scorer Shyanne Sellers. A team that has yet to deliver on a preseason Big Ten coach’s poll that had them ranked fourth in their conference.

Maryland sits ninth in the Big Ten and two games under .500 in conference play. It has eight conference games remaining on the schedule, including Iowa, which consists of three top-10 ranked opponents. The Terps have yet to win a game against a ranked opponent at the time of playing, let alone a top-ten team, in five games played.

Maryland is already set to record its worst winning percentage since joining the Big Ten in the 2014-15 season, even if it wins out the rest of the way. The Terps have never finished outside the top three in the Big Ten’s regular season conference standings, a streak likely to end this season.

Making the tournament has become a tall task for Maryland amidst the losing streak. But a win over Iowa would make its resume a lot better. The Terps need a lot for that to happen.

Sellers’ health is crucial for Maryland’s success. The junior guard averaged 15.4 points per game before injuring her knee in a loss to Penn State last week. She missed the Terps’ loss to No. 10 Indiana Wednesday and will be a game-time decision for Saturday.

The Terps’ offense looked disjointed in the first quarter against the Hoosiers without Sellers, shooting 33 percent en route to a 10-point deficit at the end of the frame. Indiana’s lead grew to 22 points at halftime. The Hoosiers’ strong fourth quarter cemented Maryland’s loss. 

“It’s a tough grind but every team has different stretches,” Frese said. “Ours is just falling right now and a tough stretch when you lose your depth and you lose Shy. We’ve got to adapt and adjust and our opponents don’t care.”

The Terps need to keep the game close by the end of the first frame against the Hawkeyes — they trailed at the end of the first quarter in every game during their losing streak. The slow starts have put Maryland into a hole. Its poor third quarters — being outscored in the period in all but one of its nine losses — only have worsened the deficits. 

“It starts with us coming out prepared mentally and physically and starting in warmups,” wing Faith Masonius said. “Just really coming out with an attack mentality and having confidence from the start.”

The most important key the Terps must have is to contain Clark, the nation’s leading scorer by over six points per game. Maryland has had success accounting for Clark in the past — three of her largest career blowout losses have come to the Terps. Yet the phenom guard has averaged 26 against Maryland in her career, including a 42-point performance last February.

Frese said the plan is to mix defenses and defenders against Clark throughout the game, hopefully keeping the senior under duress and making shots difficult. 

Whether the Terps can stop Clark or not is yet to be seen. But Saturday’s game will set the tone for the rest of Maryland’s season. A win keeps postseason hopes alive. A loss makes that road to the tournament stretch even longer.

Despite all the pressure facing the Terps, Frese reaffirmed her belief in her team heading into the matchup. They’re ready to embrace the moment.