Preview: No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball prepares for top ten matchup against No. 6 Iowa

No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) is faced with a tough task in its last home game of the regular season, facing off against No. 6 Iowa (22-5, 14-2 Big Ten) Tuesday night.

The game could potentially have important seeding implications for the Big Ten Tournament, with a potential Maryland win deadlocking the two teams at 14-3 in conference play before its last matchups of the season. 

Add in that each team faces ranked opponents in its last regular season games (Iowa vs. No. 2 Indiana; Maryland at No. 16 Ohio State) and things could get very interesting quick.

“When [the schedule] first came out, I was like ‘what in the world is the Big Ten doing to us here in the final stretch?’” coach Brenda Frese said with a chuckle. “But…you want to be battle tested, you want to know where you fall going into the conference tournament and postseason.” 

As for this matchup, all eyes will be on the rematch between two of the nation’s top guards, Maryland senior Diamond Miller and Iowa junior Caitlin Clark. 

Clark, who got the better of Miller in their first contest with an astounding 42-7-8 statline, has continued to show her dominance over college basketball this season with arguably her best year yet. 

Averaging 27.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists, Clark is largely looked at as the best guard on the women’s college basketball scene since Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu. Frese herself deemed Clark the best player in the nation leading up to the game. 

Paired with her partner in crime, fifth year forward/center Monika Czinano, Clark and the Hawkeyes are a force as the schedule fast approaches March. 

Czinano joins Clark as part of the 2022-23 Wooden Award Late Season Top 20, a list that Miller appears on as well. The two teammates have been lethal in the high screen in roll, forming a combination that the Terps can only hope to slow down.

“I didn’t think we did a good job at all with Clark or Czinano [in the first matchup],” Frese said. “They’re going to score theirs, they just have to be a lot more difficult than what they were able to get in that first game.” 

As for Miller, she has been on an incredible run in Maryland’s last five games, dating back to that loss in Iowa City. During the run, Miller has averaged 26.8 points and eight rebounds, carrying the Terps’ offense when they have needed it most. 

After a tough result in their last matchup despite her putting up 27 points while being plagued with foul trouble, Miller and the Terps hope for revenge Monday night.

While Iowa is coming off a blowout win on the road against Nebraska, Maryland is coming off what was a shaky win at Michigan State. In fact, the Terps have struggled in their last two contests, the previous one being a home game versus a Genesis Bryant-less Illinois.

Shooting the three has been a main cause for Maryland’s inability to pull away as it usually does. Between the two games, the Terps shot an abysmal 4-31 from behind the arc, having to find their offense in the paint and transition instead. 

After having a slow start in their last game against Iowa, the Terps cannot afford to get behind early for the third game in a row with Clark and Czinano lurking, waiting to pounce. Frese and her team hope for a large home crowd turnout to energize them throughout the game. 

“Hopefully [we] get a lot of people to come out to our game so we have that good environment…and feel our sixth man,” senior guard/forward Faith Masonius said. “It’s definitely an exciting way to end the season, and, you know, hopefully in the end we get the success that we want at home in front of our fans.” 

Tip-off will be at 8 p.m. in the Xfinity Center.