Monday night at the Xfinity Arena was “Mr. Worldwide night,” themed after music artist Pitbull. The Terrapins were on a three-game home losing streak and needed a win. Maryland earned its 20th win, defeating Michigan 85-77.
This was a massive response after a 20-point loss this past Thursday to Nebraska. Let’s break the game down.
Nathan’s Main Takeaways
Michigan boasts a promising freshman class.
In this Monday night’s game, Michigan challenged the Terps’ defense; the Wolverines have three freshmen who are leading scorers. Olivia Olsen and Syla Swords were two players who made things challenging, mainly contributing 45 points of the team’s 77 total points. Olsen, who fouled out late in the game, finished with 26 points in the second game, her second-highest. Syla Swords finished with 19 points. Both players also led the Wolverines in rebounding (13 combined). “They’re talented, they’re confident, and they will outwork you; we talked about that at halftime; you’re going have to outwork the effort of those two freshmen.” Head Coach Frese stated in the postgame presser.
Each person contributed significantly to the Victory.
The Terrapins have contributed from the bench most of the season. Monday night was no different, as Coach Frese went ten deep. Players like Mir Mclean, who had seen her minutes dip since the Penn State game, put their heads down and went to work Monday night. In 24 minutes of gameplay, Mclean finished with nine points and four rebounds. The stat sheet might not show it, but Ava Mckennie, in 13 minutes, finished with four rebounds and even had a steal to tie it going into halftime potentially.
Seven players were well-rounded in scoring, and Sarah Te-Biasu and Shyanne Sellers combined for 39 points. Saylor Poffenbarger scored 12 points, Christina Dalce, Kaylene Smikle, and Mir Mclean combined for 27 points, and Allie Kubek scored seven. “I thought that run that we had at the end of the second [quarter] and the start of the third [quarter] was about the best we could have played.” Coach Frese in the postgame presser. In the first quarter, the offense struggled, but things turned around as the game progressed.
Inconsistent officiating.
Officiating crews can differ, but concerns about the performance of Big Ten officials remain constant. This was again on display Monday night. One notable case of flawed officiating occurred when Maryland inbounded the ball late in the game, with Michigan defending to secure a stop. Shyanne Sellers was pushed, causing her braced right knee to hit the floor. She received a call for an offensive foul and needed assistance to exit the court. Furthermore, Kaylene Smikle played for 14 minutes but remained inactive in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, it appears that the officials are failing to adequately prepare any Big Ten team for the Conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament, which is needs to be addressed.
Resilience:
Maryland has faced challenges throughout January and February, and after watching the Lady Terps struggle at home during their last three games, Monday night served as a reset. With three games remaining, the Terrapins aim to conclude the regular season positively in the tournaments. Maryland will hit the road to take on the Northwestern Wildcats on Thursday evening.
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