Preview: No. 18 Maryland women’s basketball faces No. 11 Duke

Photo courtesy of Ashley Ray/Maryland Terrapins

It took just 15 minutes for No. 18 Maryland women’s basketball to blow the game wide open against Coppin State in its 70-47 win on Thursday. But the Terps now await their toughest contest of the season so far: No. 11 Duke (2-0).

“Being able to get minutes for everyone and kind of see how they were going to handle the nerves and these types of games,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “Those have definitely prepared us to get ready.”

After back-to-back 20+ blowout wins to open up its season, Maryland faces a daunting slate of nonconference games ahead.

The Blue Devils, a familiar foe, came into the 2024 season with lofty expectations after a discouraging second-round exit in last season’s NCAA tournament. Duke – a three-seed in the 2023 tournament – was upset by No. 6 seed Colorado, 61-53.

But this year, the Blue Devils have yet to disappoint. 

Duke comes into Sunday’s match with two dominant victories over Radford and Liberty, winning by a combined margin of almost 70 points. Like the Terps, the Blue Devils have yet to face a tough opponent.

Duke boasts one of the deepest squads as the 34th-best bench-scoring unit in the country. The Blue Devils are led by junior guard Ashlon Jackson who averages 13.5 points per game, 4 assists per game and shoots 45.5% percent from the three-point line. 

Behind Jackson is a swarm of double-digit scorers. Senior guard Reigan Richardson put up 24 combined points in the first two games. A pair of forwards follow in Toby Fournier and Jordan Wood, who both average 11.5 points per game. 

Wood is one of three players with six boards a game. Sophomore guards Jadyn Donovan and Oluchi Okananwa round out one of the worst rebounding teams in the ACC and the 165th rank in the nation.

What Duke lacks in rebounding, they certainly make up for at the free-throw line. The Blue Devils get to the line at an impressive clip – 31 times per game – a mark that ranks ninth in the country. 

In its last match against Liberty, Duke sprinted out to a 29-15 first-quarter lead. Before the Blue Devils watched their lead dwindle to two at the break. After halftime, Duke found itself ahead by five early in the third quarter and never looked back, winning 83-67.

Similar to the Blue Devils, questions can be asked regarding the legitimacy of Maryland.

The Terps brought in 10 new faces over the offseason and that has been evident in the first two games. After turning the ball over 22 times in the season opener against UMBC, Maryland limited itself to just 14 turnovers in its last match.

Amid a lack of chemistry, the transfers have made an immediate impact. Senior forward Christina Dalce, a transfer from Villanova, scored a game-high 13 points in the first game. Rutgers transfer – junior guard Kaylene Smikle – responded with 20 points in the next game.

The other transfer in the starting lineup, graduate guard Sarah Te-Biasu, added 12 points on 4-7 shooting from the three-point line. 

“That’s what we expected them to do,” Frese said. “They’ve got the experience under their belt. They’ve shown that in their previous history.”

While the Terps have run their first two opponents off the court, Frese believes this group is just scratching the surface. 

“They are all still trying to get their game legs under them,” Frese said. “Watch out once they’re all firing because they’re nowhere near where they’re going to be. I think that is the exciting thing.”

Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and will be aired on Fox Sports 1.