Preview: No. 19 Maryland women’s basketball prepares for ranked matchup against No. 17 Baylor

After rebounding from a blowout loss to No. 1 South Carolina at home, No. 19 Maryland women’s basketball (3-1) rebounded with two wins against A-10 opponents.

Now, the road will begin to get much tougher, starting with a visit to Waco, Texas to take on No. 17 Baylor (4-0).

“We’re getting ready to play a really good team in Baylor,” coach Brenda Frese said. “So just be ready to come out and play.”

For the Terps, this will be their first real road test of the season. The first game of the year was away from College Park against George Mason, but Baylor’s home arena will be a different sort of environment.

Luckily for the Terps, they do have big game experience on the roster, as multiple Terps have all played in tough road atmospheres.

Senior guard Diamond Miller is one of those players, and she’s off to a hot start this season. After suffering an injury in the season opener and missing the South Carolina game, Miller returned for the last two and certainly left her mark.

Miller scored 24 against Fordham and 29 against Davidson, and enters as Maryland’s leading scorer on a per game average (17.3).

Sharpshooter Abby Meyers is just behind her with 16.3 points per game, as the Princeton transfer has played a key role in the Maryland offense early on. Meyers attempted at least six threes in all but one game this season, and has shot 52% from deep through four games.

The Terps will have to limit turnovers if they want to win against the Bears. Maryland turned the ball over 12 times against Davidson in the first quarter, which could continue to be an issue against Baylor.

The Bears force just over 18 turnovers per game, creating 17.7 points off opponents turnovers. Leading the defensive charge is senior guard Jaden Owens, who enters with eight steals on the young season.

The Texas native is a steady hand at the point for Baylor, entering as the team leader in assists as well (23). Owens helps facilitate an offense that averages 72.3 points per game.

“Yes it is going to be a great matchup, but doing what we do best is where we will be fine,” Owens said.

Frese talked about the importance of the new faces on defense making sure that communication is constant on each possession.

“On the defensive end, we need to be a connected unit,” Frese said.

Baylor has had its collective struggles on the offensive side of the ball this year as well, as the Bears only defeated SMU by three at home their last time out. The Bears recorded 12 turnovers against the Mustangs, much to the dismay of coach Nicki Collen.

“It was painful, we had 12 turnovers and it felt like 47,” Collen said. “Just because some of our shots looked like turnovers to fans.”

Baylor lost one of its more talented players early on in the year, as forward Aijha Blackwell was injured in the win over SMU. The Missouri transfer was averaging 20 points and 7.5 rebounds.

When asked about who would replace Blackwell, Collen delegated the responsibility to the whole team.

“I think it’s a group effort, you don’t replace 20 and 10 with one player,” Collen said.

Going on the road, in a hostile environment, will be a tough place to pull off the win for Frese’s team. Yet, if the Terps manage to do so, it would be an impressive resume boosting victory.

“There is no mercy [with this schedule],” Frese said. “I think on both ends we are going to learn a lot about ourselves.”

The game will be played on Sunday at 3 p.m. and will take place at Ferrell Center in Waco.