The Terps trailed by 22 at the half and never fully recovered.
After facing a 22-point halftime deficit, Maryland women’s basketball fought back to trail by just seven in the fourth quarter against No. 10 Indiana on Wednesday. But a key call flipped the momentum back to the Hoosiers.
After Terps forward Faith Masonius was called for a loose ball foul, she rolled the ball across the court in disgust, resulting in a technical foul. Within 20 seconds, the Terps found themselves down 11, losing momentum they weren’t able to find for the rest of the night en route to their third straight loss, 87-73.
“I don’t know how we didn’t have our entire bench foul out,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “It was a very fragmented game.”
The Terps were called for 23 of the game’s 44 fouls.
It was Maryland’s first game this season without Shyanne Sellers, and it showed, especially on the offensive end. Even though four starters scored in double figures, the Terps struggled to find a rhythm.
Jakia Brown-Turner was one of Maryland’s lone bright spots, finishing with 22 points and five rebounds.
It was a rough start for the Terps offensively, as they missed their first five shots. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, were lights out from deep, making four of their first seven attempts from 3-point range. Over 40% of the team’s total shot attempts came from three, and in the first half, they made eight from range. Twelve of Sara Scalia’s 22 points came from deep.
“I wanted our kids to take any open shot beyond the arc that they had,” said Indiana head coach Teri Moren.
It wasn’t just on the perimeter where Indiana dominated Maryland, either. Indiana out-rebounded the Terps, 33-24, and Mackenzie Holmes finished with a 23-point double-double.
Between Indiana’s success and the Terps’ struggles, the Hoosiers got out to a quick 14-2 advantage and led by 10 at the end of the first quarter after a buzzer-beating layup from Holmes.
The second quarter began even worse than the first, as Indiana immediately embarked on a 7-0 run. Having little to no ability to score or rebound the ball, Maryland struggled to keep Wednesday’s affair close. Only Brown-Turner had it going in the first half, scoring 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Down 52-30 at the half, Maryland came out of the break a different team. The Terps shot 75% from the floor in the third quarter and they came up with three steals and two blocks. In the blink of an eye, the same team that had been down 22 at half was going into the fourth quarter down just nine.
“We got there in the second half,” said Frese. “Now we’ve got to be able to get there for the entire 40.”
But the final period looked much like the first half on the offensive end. The Terps made two of their final 11 shots and at one point went five minutes without a basket. Coupled with Indiana’s 11 made free throws in the frame, Maryland suffered just its eighth-ever home Big Ten defeat.
Three things to know
1. Maryland was lost on offense to start. While the second half was a completely different story, the Terps didn’t show any confidence to start the game. Maryland had only one scorer in double figures at halftime, and only two players made more than two shots. The team only had six assists in the first half.
“Our communication was there, I think we were more locked in as a unit,” Brinae Alexander said of the team’s second-half effort.
2. Indiana’s ball movement was on point. The Hoosiers made an effort to find open looks, totaling 12 assists in the first half while turning the ball over only five times. They would finish with 19 assists.
3. Struggles against ranked teams. It’s been a rough season for Maryland against the nation’s top teams. The Terps now sit at 0-5 against ranked opponents this season, with No. 3 Iowa coming to College Park this weekend.