Preview: No. 5 Maryland women’s basketball prepares for Big Ten quarterfinals matchup against Illinois

Maryland women’s basketball has dominated the Big Ten Tournament in recent years, winning five of the past eight tournaments. But this year, the tournament features three top ten teams, making it a difficult stretch for the Terps.

No. 5 Maryland’s (24-5, 15-3 Big Ten) road will begin Friday night against Iliinois (22-8, 11-7). The No. 6-seed Fighting Illini defeated Rutgers in the second round in a blowout, 81-55.

The Terps earned the No. 3-seed in the tournament, earning the right to a double-bye. The Terps are rolling, having finished the season off with ranked wins over then-No. 6 Iowa and then-No. 16 Ohio State. Additionally, Maryland has won 11 of its last 12 games, with the lone loss coming on the road to the Hawkeyes.

“I think you’re seeing all the confidence come together,” coach Brenda Frese said.

One of those wins came against Illinois, Feb. 12, when the Terps won 82-71. Interestingly, Maryland came out on top despite not making a single three in the contest, shooting 0-17 from beyond the arc.

However, Maryland dominated with its pressure defense, racking up 18 steals and turning those into easy transition points. Senior guard Diamond Miller led the way in that one, pouring in 31 points and nine rebounds.

“Maryland’s really really good …. they’ve just got unbelievable players and they’re deep,” Illinois coach Shauna Green said. 

The Fighting Illini stumbled into the tournament a bit, losing three out of their last seven, but defeated Rutgers to advance to the quarterfinals. Illinois beat Rutgers 75-53 in the last game of the regular season, then turned around and beat the Scarlet Knights in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Illinois proved it could be giant-slayers earlier this season. The Fighting Illini defeated Iowa in a highly contested 90-86 barnburner in Champaign, and nearly defeated No. 2 Indiana, losing to the Hoosiers by four.

Guard play is key in March, and the Fighting Illini have an electric guard to lead them. Junior Makira Cook leads the team in scoring (18.1 per game), assists (4.2 per game) and minutes (33.5 per game). Cook tore up the Terps in the last meeting, scoring 29.

Cook can be turnover prone though, as Maryland managed to force her into nine turnovers in the February contest. Cook has coughed it up 64 times this season and is averaging 2.3 a game.

But Cook is not the only junior double-digit scorer for Illinois. Another guard, Genesis Bryant, is the team’s leading three-point shooter (69 on 42 percent shooting) and averages 15 points per game.

The Fighting Illini win from beyond the arc, as they lead the conference in three-point shooting (38 percent) and limit their opponents in that category as well (27.5 percent). 

On defense, Illinois ranks third in the conference in scoring (64.8 per game), but doesn’t create many turnovers. The Illini have only forced 419 turnovers on the year. For comparison, Maryland has forced 574.

This will be the first game of the week for Maryland, while Illinois already has one in the tournament. Illinois looks to make a Cinderella run and improve its seeding in the NCAA tournament. For Maryland, it hopes to advance to the semifinals and continue its hopes of earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

“I wanted to be a part of a great team that has the capabilities of going far in tournament play,” senior guard Abby Meyers said.

The game will tip off at approximately 9 p.m. on Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis.