If Wisconsin was going to upset the No. 2 Maryland women’s basketball team Wednesday night, the Badgers were likely going to need everything to go right with some lucky breaks along the way.
When the Terps announced before the game starting point guard Destiny Slocum — the team’s third-leading scorer — wouldn’t play due to an illness, it seemed fortune might favor the last-place Badgers.
But any hope of Wisconsin shocking Maryland in Xfinity Center was dashed soon after. Maryland scored the game’s first 16 points and led by 30 midway through the second quarter.
Maryland went on to win, 89-40, staying perfect in conference play with its largest margin of victory in a Big Ten game since joining the conference two seasons ago.
“It was one of our most complete games as a team, collectively,” coach Brenda Frese said.
The Wisconsin offense couldn’t solve Maryland’s defense in the first half. The Badgers shot just 2-for-16 from the field in the first quarter and didn’t reach double digits in either the first or second frame.
[Read more: Maryland women’s basketball’s bench needs to “keep pushing” with the postseason near]
The Terps (26-1, 14-0 Big Ten) didn’t appear hampered by Slocum’s absence. Wisconsin coach Jonathan Tsipis called a timeout after guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough went coast-to-coast following a steal to put Maryland up 11-0 with 5:27 left in the first quarter.
“This team set the tone,” Frese said.
Maryland scored five more points before a midrange jumper from forward Malayna Johnson got the Badgers (6-20, 1-12) on the board more than six minutes into the game.
Tsipis said he “would be remiss” not to credit Maryland’s defensive positioning for why his team struggled to score.
That wasn’t the only scoring drought for Wisconsin. The Badgers scored just 14 points before halftime and went about six minutes without a point spanning the first and second periods. Wisconsin finished the game with 40 points, the lowest total from a Terps opponent this season.
Frese said she’s emphasized defense in recent weeks after recognizing it as the one area the Terps were lacking in that could “come back to cost” them.
“We’ve just been attacking our defense,” Jones said. “We know it’s something we can improve.”
Midway through the second quarter, guard Kaila Charles split a pair of free throws to put the Terps up by 30 points, 37-7. Maryland led, 43-14, at intermission.
Walker-Kimbrough paced the offense in the first half with 16 points on 5-for-5 from the field. Center Brionna Jones finished the contest with 16 points and 11 rebounds for her 19th double-double of her senior season.
Guard Kristen Confroy buried a 3-pointer on the first possession after halftime and Wisconsin never got back within 30 points. The shellacking comes days before Maryland travels to No. 12 Ohio State, its first ranked opponent since December, on Monday.
“Coach has been emphasizing consistency,” said Walker-Kimbrough, who finished with 22 points and five steals. “No matter what, no matter who we’re playing, we’re trying to focus on ourselves.”
The Terps shot 51.6 percent from the field while the Badgers made 31.5 percent of their shots. Wisconsin had 20 turnovers, doubling Maryland’s 10.
“We did a really good job from start to finish, continuing to send waves and continuing to be competitive on both ends of the floor,” Walker-Kimbrough said. “Today was a really good win.”
CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story stated Maryland played Wisconsin on Thursday night. The two teams played Wednesday night. The story has been updated to reflect this correction.
