Takeaways from No. 16 Maryland women’s basketball’s road win against Oregon

Photo courtesy of University of Maryland Athletics

No. 16 Maryland women’s basketball (18-5, 8-4 Big Ten) left little doubt in its convincing 79-61 road win over Oregon (16-7, 7-5). The Terps picked up just their second victory in their past six games, marking head coach Brenda Frese’s 600th career win at Maryland.

Here are three takeaways from the contest.

Te-Biasu’s prolific shooting leads the way

With Bri McDaniel’s season-ending injury and Shyanne Sellers working her way back to 100%, more offensive weight has been placed on Sarah Te-Biasu’s shoulder. And the 5-foot-5 guard has been up to the challenge as of late, reaching double-figures in the past five games.

But Thursday’s contest was the best she has looked in a Maryland uniform. Te-Biasu rained in jumpers from all over the court, while making her first seven shots of the game. Her first miss came with 3:39 left in the second quarter.

Te-Biasu exploded for 17 points in the first half en route to her season-high 26 point-performance. She shot 9-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-7 from deep to help the Terps open up a 31-point lead.

However, Te-Biasu has always been an efficient shooter, especially from three-point range. But she has flipped a switch on the attacking end, looking to score more often for herself. Te-Biasu has jacked up 10+ shots in four of her past five games, a feat she had achieved just once in the first 17 contests.

Since becoming the primary ball handler, her command of the offense has also grown. Te-Biasu turns the ball over only 1.6 times a game and distributes 2 assists.

“She just has a great understanding of when to score and when to get others involved,” Frese said. “You look at her efficiency, nine for 11 from the field is just remarkable with the amount of minutes that she is playing.”

With the game effectively out of reach heading into the fourth quarter and Te-Biasu already at 23 points, she took her foot off the gas pedal, attempting just one shot in the final 10 minutes.

Defensive reversal

The point of emphasis heading into Thursday’s game was Oregon’s defense and the size of its frontcourt. The Ducks held opponents to 59.8 points per game, the fifth-best mark in the Big Ten. 

But Maryland flipped the script, allowing just 22 first-half points and nine in the first quarter. And Oregon’s ball control figured to help it slow the Terps down in transition. However, 10 first-half turnovers led to 11 points for Maryland.

The Ducks shot an abysmal 25.9% from the field in the opening half, while almost single-handedly getting outscored by Te-Biasu — 22 to 19. A seven-minute stretch in the first quarter where Oregon scored just two points helped the Terps open up an 11-point advantage.

Maryland limited the Ducks’ starters to just 12 points and eventually forced head coach Kelly Graves to empty his bench midway through the third quarter. 

Oregon’s usual offensive weapons — guards Peyton Scott and Deja Kelly — combined for just four points in the opening period. However, Scott picked up a right leg injury in the second quarter that sidelined her for the rest of the game.

On the other side, the Terps came out firing on all cylinders. They shot 63.6% from the field in the first quarter and finished 54.3% from the floor. And the three-pointers were falling as well, with Maryland making nine of them, the most it had since before the skid started. Te-Biasu, Kaylene Smikle, Saylor Poffenbarger and Allie Kubek each knocked one down.

Maryland’s road success continues

Oregon entered Thursday’s contest with a remarkable 13-1 record at home. The Terps knew a daunting task awaited them, especially given its recent stumble. However, amid Maryland’s skid, it still boasts a 6-1 record away from the Xfinity Center. 

One of these near-perfect statistics had to give way. In a conference where anything can happen, particularly on the road, the Terps looked untouchable against the Ducks.

“We know how precious road wins are, especially when you’re dealing with adversity,” Frese said. “I thought we really came out strong, aggressively, especially on the defensive end. Really happy to see our response even when Oregon kind of started hitting shots in the third quarter and ramped up physicality.”

The most impressive feat is that Maryland dominated without any production from Shyanne Sellers. The Terps’ second-leading scorer was held scoreless for the first time this season, only attempting three shots in her 23 minutes of action.

Maryland has now picked up conference road wins over Purdue, then-No. 23 Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State and Oregon.