Maryland women bounce back, rout Michigan State
By Kareem Copeland,
The scene must have seemed like a brief, painful flash of deja vu for Maryland Coach Brenda Frese. Slow starts had recently plagued the No. 7 Terrapins, and she hoped Monday’s loss to Ohio State would be a wake-up call. Then the Michigan State Spartans sprinted out the gate Thursday with a three-pointer and a pair of layups to go with a couple of Maryland turnovers.
The moment, however, was fleeting. The Terps responded with 17 straight points to start what would end in a 92-52 rout at Xfinity Center.
The 52 points are a season low for Michigan State and the second fewest the Terps have allowed this season.
“You didn’t want to see any of us on Tuesday, because we were so disappointed,” Frese said of the team’s mind-set following the loss at Ohio State. “But that’s because everyone’s so competitive.
[Last time out: Maryland women have a pair of winning streaks snapped by Ohio State]
“Just loved the response. I think it continues to show the character in our locker room. Obviously, we were disappointed with the result at Ohio State and not having consistent energy in that game. . . . [This] was one of our most dominating performances up to date.”
Ashley Owusu and Diamond Miller led the way with 20 points each while Miller added 10 rebounds and Owusu chipped in five assists. Chloe Bibby helped lead the early charge and finished with 13 points, and Faith Masonius was one point shy of her career high with 13. Twenty-one points from the bench were a welcome improvement for Maryland (12-2, 8-1 Big Ten) after the reserves managed just eight, all from Alaysia Styles, in the loss to Ohio State.
Michigan State (9-3, 4-3) nearly pulled off the upset in East Lansing three weeks ago when Nia Clouden scored a career-high 32 points, but the Maryland native was held in check Thursday with just 15 points on 3-for-9 shooting. Teammate Mardrekia Cook (11 points) was the only other Spartan in double figures.
Frese said it was a point of pride to defend Clouden — and the Spartans in general — better than the previous meeting.
“We lost, so teams may underestimate us or think we maybe fell off,” Owusu said. “Today was a statement win that we’re still one of the best teams in the conference and we’re just here to stay.”
Defense and turnovers have been concerns for Frese this month, but the Terps were clearly focused on addressing those issues against the Spartans. Michigan State shot just 34 percent from the field, and Maryland’s press defense sparked the 17-0 first-quarter run.
Five quick points from Miller and a Bibby steal and layup set the tone for that spurt. The Spartans trailed 50-30 at halftime and failed to score a field goal in the final 2:33 of the second quarter. Maryland forced a season-high 24 turnovers that led to 30 points.
“No excuses on our end,” Spartans Coach Suzy Merchant said. “It was just a really poor showing, especially in that second half. I thought we’d get a few more competitors out there and kids that could knock down some shots when they’re open. But Maryland’s a great scoring offensive team, so if you don’t score with them or play with them offensively, you’re going to be in trouble, for sure.”
Maryland is the highest-scoring team in the nation and on pace to break the school’s mark for scoring average, but the offense had struggled in its previous two games, mainly because of turnovers. The first 90 seconds Thursday included turnovers from Miller and Owusu, but the Terps had just 11 turnovers the rest of the way.
[Dynamic sophomores Owusu and Miller are powering an explosive Maryland offense]
The blowout was a bounce-back performance for Miller, who scored just 10 points Monday against the Buckeyes.
“It was no secret that I didn’t play the best that I could play at Ohio State, but you’ve got to move on,” Miller said. “We had a fresh start today, and I think we showed that we’re capable of being one of the top teams in the country.
“We just wanted to play really hard and continue to grow. It’s still young in the season, and mistakes are going to happen, and we’re going to take unforced losses, but we’ve just got to bounce back, and I think we did that today.”
Maryland has won four straight against the Spartans and leads the series 15-2.
Note: Frese has 498 wins at Maryland, one shy of Chris Weller, who went 499-286 from 1975 to 2002. Frese can next match Weller at home against Wisconsin on Feb. 4.
“I don’t think of that when you’re in this moment,” Frese said. “I only know that because of all of you [media]. . . . The pride is in the consistency level that we’ve been able to uphold here at Maryland. All those wins are a byproduct and result of the talent that came before us, the current talent, staff and support staff that has helped us in so many ways to allow us to be such a successful program.”
