The Terps look to improve to 5-0 on the season.
Maryland women’s basketball had two main tests early in its season, and passed both.
The Terps rattled off back-to-back nonconference victories over then-No. 11 Duke and Syracuse and are off to a 4-0 start.
Now, head coach Brenda Frese’s team faces a string of nonconference matchups against weaker opponents, and is focused on avoiding a letdown, starting with a home matchup Sunday against Towson.
“They didn’t let the fatigue get in the way up at Syracuse,” Frese said. “I like where we’re at, there’s a lot of areas for us to be able to improve on.”
The game will tip off at 11 a.m. and stream on Big Ten Plus.
Towson Tigers (0-3, 0-0 Coastal Athletic Association)
2023-24 record: 20-11, 11-7 CAA
Following a relatively successful 2023 where they came one point short of the CAA conference championship game, the Tigers’ 2024 is off to a tough start. They suffered blowout losses in their first two games against No. 15 West Virginia and George Mason. On Thursday, they lost a heartbreaker to Morgan State, 64-63.
Towson’s head coach is former Terp Laura Harper, who is in her second year with the team. Harper was the most outstanding player on the Maryland team that won the national championship in 2006.
Frese said she appreciates the opportunity to welcome Harper home.
Players to watch
Khady Leye, freshman forward, 6-foot-2, No. 6 — Leye’s college career is off to an impressive start. After struggling in Towson’s opener against West Virginia, she responded by scoring 18 on George Mason. She is the team’s scoring and rebounding leader through three games, averaging 9.7 points and 8.3 boards.
Shariah Baynes, freshman guard, 5-foot-6, No. 4 — Baynes was thrown into the fire as Towson’s starting point guard immediately upon her arrival. She has been the team’s biggest threat from deep, knocking down 4-of-8 threes so far this season, while averaging two assists per game.
India Johnston, junior guard, 5-foot-8, No. 2 — Johnston is the Tigers’ biggest volume scorer. She hasn’t been efficient so far this season, shooting less than 30%, but has the ability to get hot and cause Maryland problems, particularly from deep. She also has four steals through three games.
Strength
Youth. Towson’s inexperience could be its biggest weakness and its biggest asset. It is relying heavily on a group of underclassmen that lack experience at the college level. But both freshmen in the Tigers’ starting lineup have already shown potential, and they just might come into Xfinity Center cause the Terps problems.
Weakness
Offensive efficiency. Towson’s offense has not been pretty to start this season. The Tigers are shooting 39.7% from the field, 30.6% from deep and 56% from the free throw line. They’ve turned the ball over 78 times and only have 31 assists. They will simply need to be more efficient if they want to pull off an upset Sunday morning.
Three things to watch
1. Allie Kubek vs. her old squad. Kubek played her freshman and sophomore seasons with the Tigers, earning multiple All-CAA honors during her time there. It will be her second time facing her old team — last year she scored 17 points in the matchup. The team has a different head coach and Kubek said she only knows one player on the current squad.
“Just excited to play against them and get the dub,” Kubek said.
2. Fatigue. This will be Maryland’s fourth game in 10 days — one of its busiest stretches of the season. If the Terps open up a big lead early, Frese will likely go deep into her bench and lean less on some of her regular starters. After this game, Maryland will get a week-long break.
3. How long can Maryland stay undefeated? The Terps are already off to their best start in three years at 4-0, but with some favorable matchups ahead, they could remain undefeated for a lot longer. The Terps’ best start in the last 10 years was when they rattled off 12 straight wins to start the 2016-17 season.