The Terps shot more than 53% from the field Tuesday.
No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball snuck past No. 24 Minnesota Tuesday night, 99-92.
The Terps strung together an overall strong performance, but certain outcomes from Tuesday’s game could have looming effects on the remainder of the season.
Here are three takeaways from Maryland’s win.
McDaniel’s injury
Bri McDaniel drove into the paint at the end of the first quarter and missed a layup trying to beat the buzzer through contact. She fell awkwardly and stayed down, laboring her right knee.
McDaniel had to be carried into the locker room by the trainers, not putting weight on her legs after the injury occurred. She did not return to the game, but came back to the Maryland bench at halftime without a brace on her right knee.
The unknowns stemming from McDaniel’s injury dampen the mood following Maryland’s win.
“I actually don’t know a lot. I know it’s her right knee. I know that the next few days they’ll be doing some testing on her knee,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “She was in pain in the locker room. But it’s hard to say, it’s too early at this point. We got a few days off, so we’ll be able to hopefully gain some information from there.”
With Maryland in one of its toughest stretches of the season — its next three opponents are all top-10 in the Associated Press poll — the possibility of losing one of its most impactful players for a significant period of time is daunting.
The Terps recovered without McDaniel for most of Tuesday night, but if she misses substantial time, the Terps will need players like Mir McLean and Ava McKennie to step into bigger roles.
“I thought these two to my right, Mir [McLean] and Allie [Kubek] were sensational. Just the pickup that we needed,” Frese said.
The Terps were incredibly efficient Tuesday
Maryland had one of its best shooting nights of the season Tuesday — especially given the opponent it faced.
Minnesota headed into Tuesday tied for the best scoring defense in the country, allowing just 50.8 points per game. But the Terps completely broke Minnesota’s strength, willing their way past the Gophers with strong offense.
“Really proud of the efficiency,” Frese said. “I thought they started to kind of understand how Minnesota was defending them and being able to make the one more’s.”
Maryland was 34-of-64 (53.1%) from the field, including 10-of-22 (45.5%) from 3-point range.
The Terps were perfect from the free-throw line for the first time this season, making all 21 attempts. Kaylene Smikle was 8-of-8 and Shyanne Sellers was 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Beyond Maryland’s overall performance, Sellers was as efficient as she’s ever been. She scored 27 points — two shy of her career high — shooting 9-of-11 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from deep. Sellers also posted nine rebounds and seven assists in what was easily her best game of the season.
“[Sellers’] efficiency is just incredible, and needing to be able to have so that was really important,” Frese said.
Allie Kubek also had a strong shooting performance, notching 17 points. She shot 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep, showcasing her overall shooting arsenal for the first time this season.
Late-game woes
Despite the win, things were incredibly shaky for Maryland toward the end of Tuesday’s game.
With the win thought to be in hand — the Terps were up by 20 points with three minutes remaining — the Gophers went on a remarkable run and almost completed an improbable comeback. Minnesota outscored Maryland, 19-2, in the span of roughly two minutes to close the gap to three points.
“Still need to work through the fourth quarter. I think that’s probably the most disappointing piece of the game,” Frese said.
The Gophers hit an impressive four 3-pointers in that stretch, holding Maryland to without a made field goal for the rest of the game.
For a team that has high aspirations this season, a stretch like that in other important games may not end well for the Terps.
“I’d rather learn lessons with a win versus a loss and areas for us to improve on,” Frese said.