The Terps dropped their third consecutive game.
No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball kept it close early, but could not hold on for the entire game against No. 1 UCLA, losing its third straight game, 82-67, Sunday at Xfinity Center.
Without guard Shyanne Sellers, the Terps were no match for one of the best players in women’s college basketball, Lauren Betts, as she scored a career-high 33 points.
The Terps held their own with UCLA early on, but Betts bullied them in the paint. Standing at 6-foot-6, Amari DeBerry received extended minutes against Betts, but the effort wasn’t good enough. Betts ended the first quarter with 14 points.
“We were trying to match length, clearly, with Amari,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “We were trying to double off the dribble, because she’s a great passer. But then the second half, we just had to sell out.”
Down by 12 points, the Terps cut the deficit to two with a 12-2 run. While they still entered halftime down by five points, it was an admirable first half without Sellers and Bri McDaniel. Despite UCLA’s seemingly overbearing size, the Terps outrebounded the Bruins, 16-15, in the opening 20 minutes.
Betts finished the first half with 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the field, while Kiki Rice also contributed 10 points in half.
“I think we started with our defense once we started getting stops and we just walked in on that,” Betts said. “I think it just created easier touches for me in transition.”
The second half started with UCLA seizing all momentum. With the Terps unable to immediately respond, the Bruins’ lead ballooned to 13.
Maryland’s best answer was Saylor Poffenbarger, as she scored a team-high 18 points. However, Betts was too dominant, setting her new career high in just the third quarter.
The Terps entered the fourth quarter down by 17 points, and the Bruins continued firing on all cylinders, drawing fouls at will.
UCLA blew the game open in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 25 points, as the Terps were seemingly out of gas. Maryland brought it back to within points 15 in garbage time, but the game was already all but over.
Three things to know
1. Three in a row. After starting 16-1, Maryland has lost three games in a row this past week, all of which to opponents ranked in the top 12. It is almost certain the Terps will drop significantly in the Associated Press Poll Monday.
2. Poffenbarger played well. Poffenbarger has struggled recently, scoring less than 10 points in six of the last eight games, but posted a strong performance Sunday. She scored 18 points, shooting 8-of-15 from the field.
“I definitely had to get in the gym. I had to work on some shots that I hadn’t worked on before,” Poffenbarger said. “My mid-range is coming along, something I have to utilize.”
3. Losing to the best. UCLA is the No. 1 team in the country and the only unbeaten team in any power conference. Despite the scoreboard illustrating otherwise, the Terps battled with a significantly stronger opponent.
“We just didn’t have an answer for Kiki [Rice] and for [Betts]. I thought she really hurt us in transition,” Frese said.