Clinging to a one-point lead with seven minutes left before halftime against Indiana, Maryland women’s basketball was setting itself up to need another second-half run after an inconsistent first half offensive showing.
But just when it seemed the Terps were going to sleepwalk through the first 20 minutes on Sunday, No. 11 Maryland flipped the switch a quarter early.
The Terps ended the half on a 14-0 run to take a more comfortable 40-25 lead, and they held on for a 76-56 win over Indiana behind a suffocating defensive effort that limited the Hoosiers to just 36 points over the final three quarters.
“Indiana came out hard and aggressive,” coach Brenda Frese said. “Loved our fight. We had a lot of fun, competed for 40 minutes, and you saw the results.”
Maryland (18-2, 7-2 Big Ten) started slow from the field, converting just 2-of-10 shots to begin the game. And after a pair of nearly identical corner triples from guard Brenna Wise, the Hoosiers (16-5, 5-4) were off to a 14-6 start after five minutes.
But then guard Kaila Charles took over.
In the final 5:11 of the first half, Charles scored 10 points to quickly tighten the scoreline. The senior had 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting in the first 10 minutes, and with 19 first-half points, she comfortably exceeded her team-leading 15.6 points per game in half the time.
“We go as Kaila goes,” Frese said. “And I thought from the tip they had no answer for her.”
Charles — who finished with a season-high 25 points — was successful in transition, frequently scoring coast-to-coast before Indiana could set up its defense. The Terps scored 22 transition points in the first half, and they consistently attacked the post to the tune of 42 points in the paint.
“We knew that we could attack them inside,” said forward Stephanie Jones, who finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. “Being able to get out in transition, I think that we executed that well today.”
The momentum from Charles’ early-game surge didn’t carry over into the second quarter at first, and Maryland led only 26-25 nearly five minutes into the period after another prolonged stretch of offensive difficulties.
Just as Charles had willed the Terps back into the game early, Jones carried the torch in the second period.
Jones laid it in to give Maryland a 29-25 edge, and after a step-back jumper, another lay-in and an old-fashioned three-point play, she was quickly up to 12 points. The junior had nine points in three minutes, and the Terps used an explosive 14-0 run to end the half, entering the break with a comfortable 40-25 edge.
“We came out a little slow, but we didn’t let that dictate the game,” Charles said. “We knew they were going to get on a run, so we were able to take their punch and hit them back.”
However, the main catalyst of the 19-3 run to end the second period was Maryland’s aggressive defense. The Terps’ pressure stifled Indiana into 13 turnovers and just 32.3 percent shooting in the first half. And the home squad ended the quarter just 1-for-15 from the field over the final 9:15, failing to score in the final 7:01 before the break.
Indiana shot just 37.5 percent over the course of the game.
When Maryland resumed with another ice-cold stretch offensively, the Terps’ defense again stepped up. Despite shooting 2-for-12 from the field in the third frame, they managed to outscore the home squad 12-10 in the period to go into the final 10 minutes up 52-35.
Maryland’s offense returned to form in the fourth quarter, as the Terps converted their first seven attempts to begin the period. With a 57.9 percent shooting percentage in the final quarter, they further extended their lead to as high as 25 points to put the game away for good.
And for the second consecutive game, Frese emptied her bench and could calmly watch as Maryland ran the clock out of another road Big Ten rout, a 76-56 win in Assembly Hall on Sunday.
“We knew we were going to be in a tough environment,” Charles said. “We had to stick together and bring our own energy and just work hard. And that’s what we did today.”
