The Terps started strong, but almost blew their lead late.
No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball had something to prove Wednesday night at Penn State.
The Terps completely kicked the door open from the jump, but almost imploded late, holding on for a 82-73 win.
Maryland seemed to have Wednesday’s game signed, sealed and delivered with a 20-point second-half lead, but a slew of turnovers that Penn State took advantage of made things dicey late.
“Really glad to be able to pick up a win against a team that I thought played really hard, like Penn State did,” head coach Brenda Frese. “We knew they’d come in hungry and credit to them for really ramping up. I thought physicality, intensity wise, in the second half, I thought we had a great start on both ends of the floor.”
Sarah Te-Biasu led the way for Maryland with a season-high 20 points, while three other Terps scored double-digit points.
Penn State had two primary scorers, one who dominated each half. Gracie Merkle scored 24 points, 18 of which came in the first half, and Gabbie Carter posted 23 points, all of which were scored in the second half.
The Terps got out to an early lead with an 8-0 run to start the game, looking like a top-10 team again. Penn State looked sloppy, aiding multiple Maryland runs with turnovers.
It was a stark contrast from when these teams last faced off in State College, as Penn State won by 36 points last season.
Merkle was almost Penn State’s exclusive offensive source early on with 13 of its first 15 points. She started 7-of-7 from the field, and similar to No. 1 UCLA’s Lauren Betts on Sunday, the Terps had trouble guarding the star big.
Maryland boasted seven different scorers in the first half, while only three Nittany Lions scored.
Despite Shyanne Sellers returning to the lineup Wednesday, her impact in the first half was relatively low, only playing seven minutes.
“We wanted to be smart with her minutes as we get her back. So, she practiced the other day and felt really good,” Frese said. “I think that also impacted us tonight, when you just kind of talk about some of our substitution and just how we were trying to protect her around this game.”
Sellers ramped up her intensity to begin the second half, scoring seven points within the first four minutes of the third quarter.
After building a 20-point lead during the third quarter, the Terps could not rid themselves of the turnover bug. Three giveaways handed the Nittany Lions an 8-0 run.
With Penn State’s defense tightening significantly between the end of the third and the start of the fourth quarters, Maryland’s lead was suddenly cut to single digits.
Penn State then completely flipped the momentum. Maryland’s turnovers continued and Penn State cut its lead to two points before Emily Fisher ran the court for a clutch layup. After a Penn State layup in response, Kaylene Smikle drew an and-1 to put the Terps back up by five points.
“I thought Emily Fisher coming in late had probably some of the most impactful minutes there for us to be able to help us in the press break,” Frese said.
The Terps got back on track, hitting seven consecutive shots. Even still, Penn State would not go away, providing a close finish.
Three things to know
1. Sellers is back. Heading into Wednesday’s game, Sellers returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with a knee sprain. She posted 10 points, two assists and five turnovers.
“We know [Sellers] just came back and she was playing hard. She did the best that she can,” Te-Biasu said.
2. Turnovers late. The Terps allowed Penn State to gnaw into their lead, courtesy of careless turnovers. Maryland could barely break Penn State’s press after it began in the second half, almost causing a catastrophic meltdown as it committed 12 second-half turnovers.
“We had a couple of turnovers, but after that, we just got together and just [were] confident and just made the right plays,” Te-Biasu said.
3. Elliott had a massive second half. The Terps held Elliott scoreless in the first half, but she erupted in the second half, scoring 23 on 9-of-14 shooting from the field in the final 20 minutes.