The Terps look to stack wins.
No. 21 Maryland women’s basketball has three games between now and the start of its postseason campaign.
The Terps will need to take it one matchup at a time, though, and that starts with the lowly Wildcats on the road Thursday night.
The game will air on Big Ten Network and begin at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Northwestern Wildcats (9-15, 2-11 Big Ten)
After a brutal season, the Wildcats are at a relative highpoint entering their matchup with Maryland. After opening conference play with 10 straight losses, they have picked up two wins in their last three games. While the wins came over fellow bottom-feeders in Penn State and Rutgers, it won’t feel any less relieving to Wildcats head coach Joe McKeown.
Northwestern has made just two NCAA Tournaments during McKeown’s 17-year tenure.
Players to watch
Taylor Williams, graduate forward, 6-foot-2, No. 33 — Williams is a double-double machine and one of the Big Ten’s rebounding leaders, averaging 9.4 per game. She is at her third college after a dominant career at Western Michigan and a quiet senior year at Michigan last season. Keeping her off the glass on both ends will be a challenge for Maryland’s bigs.
Caileigh Walsh, senior center, 6-foot-3, No. 10 — Walsh is the Wildcats’ leading scorer, averaging 11.5 points per game. She and Williams make the Wildcats dangerous around the rim, but Walsh can stretch the floor and will keep Maryland honest on the perimeter. Defensively, she is a solid rim protector, averaging a block per contest.
Melannie Daley, senior guard, 5-foot-11, No. 21 — Daley is the Wildcats’ best ball handler and perimeter threat. However, she does most of her damage within the 3-point line, attacking downhill and knocking down midrange jumpers. She is the Wildcats’ biggest threat off the bench, averaging 11 points per game.
Strength
Size. The Wildcats start a group of forwards that are 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-4 (Grace Sullivan starts alongside Walsh and Williams). This gives them a length advantage over Maryland, unless Frese counters with a bigger starting five of her own.
Weakness
Defense. Only one program in the Big Ten is allowing its opponents to score more points per game than Northwestern. It commits the fifth most fouls per game (17.8) as well, and getting to the free-throw line has been a recipe for success for the Terps. It also has the third-worst 3-point defense in the conference, which should open up opportunities for Sarah Te-Biasu and Kaylene Smikle.
Three things to watch
1. Shyanne Sellers’ availability. Sellers was helped off the court in the final minute of Maryland’s last game after seemingly reaggravating her previously injured right knee. Sellers assured everyone she was fine postgame, but it may be worth sitting her in a game where the Terps may not need her services.
2. Rotation. Frese exhausted all nine of her available players in the win over Michigan. Whether she employs a deeper bench against Northwestern or not will be something to monitor. Additionally, she sat Smikle for the majority of the fourth quarter, and it remains to be seen whether Smikle will return to her normal workload for the rest of the season.
3. Can Maryland continue its road dominance? The Terps have lost just one true road game this season — at No. 12 Ohio State. If they can finish with wins over Northwestern and Indiana on the road, they’ll have a road record of 10-1, a massive improvement from their 3-8 mark last year.