The Terps face the Mountaineers for one final tune-up before Big Ten play begins.
After sweeping a pair of games in the Navy Classic over the weekend, No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball will play in one more nonconference tune-up against Mount St. Mary’s Tuesday before its first Big Ten game Saturday.
The Terps look to improve to 9-0 for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Tuesday night’s game at Xfinity Center will tip off at 7 p.m. and be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (0-5, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
Head coach Antoine White is in his fourth season at the helm of Mount St. Mary’s. Despite nonconference struggles, he has led the Mountaineers to accomplishments within their conference. In his first season, Mount St. Mary’s won the Northeast Conference title and made the NCAA Tournament First Four. Since the Mountaineers moved to the MAAC, White has led his team to back-to-back MAAC Tournament quarterfinals appearances.
This season, the Mountaineers are winless through five games and face a top-10 opponent on Tuesday. Mount St. Mary’s lost close games to Fairleigh Dickinson and Howard, but was blown out by South Florida, Bucknell and George Mason.
Mount St. Mary’s last played George Mason, who Maryland defeated, 66-56, on Saturday during the Navy Classic. The Patriots got the best of the Mountaineers, 87-51.
Players to watch
Gabrielle Kennerly, redshirt freshman guard, 5-foot-9, No. 15 — Kennerly leads the Mountaineers with 12.2 points points per game after redshirting last season with an injury. She has started in all five games for the Mountianeers, shooting 40.7% from the field and 32.1% from 3-point range.
Anna LeMaster, graduate guard, 5-foot-9, No. 10 — LeMaster is in her first season with Mount St. Mary’s after transferring from American. She is averaging 12 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game this season. LeMaster is the most experienced player on the team, playing in her sixth year. She spent three years at Dayton before a two-year stint with American.
Jo Raflo, senior guard, 5-foot-11, No. 4 — Raflo is in her third season with Mount St. Mary’s and is a huge asset for the team, despite missing the first three games this season. In two games this season, she is averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Last season, she was a All-MAAC third-team selection and averaged 12.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. She led the team with 24 blocks last season and added 34 steals. She has started in 57 of her 61 appearances with the Mountaineers.
Strength
Defense. Despite an 0-5 start to the season, Mount St. Mary’s has been solid defensively. The Mountaineers allow 64 points per game, which is tied for the sixth-best mark in the MAAC.
Weakness
Shooting from the field. The Mountaineers are 82-of-266 from the field this season, a 30.8% shooting percentage, which is the worst in the MAAC and 349th in the entire country. Only four Division I teams have a worse shooting percentage than Mount St. Mary’s. In comparison, Maryland’s 50.9% mark from the field is fifth best in the nation.
Three things to watch
1. A jump to No. 7. Maryland moved up three spots in this week’s Associated Press top-25 poll to No. 7 in the country. The Terps have moved up 11 spots in the poll since starting the season at No. 18. The Terps remain the third highest-ranked team in the Big Ten, only trailing new conference additions No. 1 UCLA and No. 6 USC.
If things go as expected Tuesday, Maryland will enter Big Ten play as an undefeated, top-10 team in the country.
2. The Terps have thrived on the boards. This season, Maryland averages a 15.6 rebound margin per game, which is fourth best in the nation. The Terps average 44.6 rebounds per game, which is 15th most in the nation and third in the Big Ten. Christina Dalce and Saylor Poffenbarger both average 8.5 rebounds per game, tied for 11th in the Big Ten and 102nd in the nation.
The Terps should continue this dominance against an inferior opponent Tuesday.
3. Teddy Bear Toss. Tuesday’s game is Maryland’s annual Teddy Bear Toss, where fans will throw teddy bears on the court during halftime for a Toys for Tots fundraiser.