RECAP: No. 16 Maryland women’s basketball comfortably defeats Minnesota, 107-85

With just under four minutes to go, Gia Cooke stepped to the free-throw line with the game out of hand.

Cooke calmly drained her first foul shot to push Maryland across the hundred point mark, the first 100-point game from the Terps this season.

Cook was one of 10 Terps that recorded a basket as No. 16 Maryland women’s basketball cruised to a 107-85 home win over Minnesota on Friday.

Senior guard Abby Meyers continued her tear, as the Princeton transfer came out aggressive in the first half, scoring 11 points. Meyers entered with three-straight double-digit point performances.

In the first quarter, Meyers went 5-7 from the field — including one make from three — to help propel Maryland to a 24-15 lead in the first quarter. Shayanne Sellers also shot it well early on, as the sophomore guard went 2-2 from the field in the opening quarter.

As a team, Maryland shot it extremely well from the field in the first quarter, a 50% clip from the field. On the defensive side of the ball, coach Brenda Frese implemented a full-court trap, frustrating Minnesota en route to seven first quarter turnovers.

“Our press forcing turnovers is something that we’ve very capable of doing every time we step on the floor,” Frese said.

Two of Maryland’s senior leaders opened up the second quarter scoring for Maryland, as guard Diamond Miller and guard/forward Brinae Alexander scored the first 10 points.

The Gophers’ leading scorer, guard Mara Braun, was limited early. The star freshman did not score her first points until 8:35 left in the second quarter. Coming into the game, Braun ranked fifth in the Big Ten in scoring.

“Coaches have been preaching to us [about] being aggressive on defense and making teams feel uncomfortable,” Sellers said.

However, Braun started to shake loose in the second quarter, scoring ten consecutive points for the Gophers, including two three pointers. The Gophers cut their deficit down to seven with 3:45 left in the second quarter.

Maryland went on a three minute scoring drought in the second quarter, which was finally broken by a Sellers short jumper. The offense turned stagnant for the Terps, which has plagued them in sprouts all year.

Still, Maryland did just enough on offense to head into the break up 48-39, aided by an Alexander three at the buzzer. Alexander has been a big addition for the Terps, as she ranks fourth on the team in points per game (9.3) and has shot nearly 50% from three. She finished with eight against Minnesota.

Meyers and Miller got the Terps out to a good start in the second half, as the duo combined for eight of Maryland’s first ten points in the third quarter.

“Coming out of halftime we really wanted to make sure Minnesota didn’t go on another run,” Miller said.

Turnovers plagued the Gophers in the third quarter, as Maryland scored 11 points off five Minnesota turnovers. That was punctuated by a Sellers three of a Gopher turnover to extend the Terps’ lead to 21 with 6:50 left in the quarter.

Maryland’s offense was on fire in the third quarter, as the Terps shot over 50% from the field in the quarter. Taking advantage of a sloppy Gophers offense, Maryland pushed its lead out to 72-51 with just under four minutes to go in the third.

“Championship teams have to have four or five scorers, so that’s really important for us to have,” Frese said.

Maryland pushed its lead out to 23 points entering the fourth quarter, up 83-60.

The fourth quarter was no different, as Frese’s offense seemed to be clicking on all cylinders. Cooke — despite seeing little playing time this season — opened up the fourth quarter on the floor. The freshman guard finished with eight points.

“We really extended our depth today, which we will need going forward,” Frese said.

With the result already known, the Terps cruised in the fourth quarter, resulting in the 22-point win.