Forward Alyssa Thomas finished with a game-high 16 points in the Terps’ 70-48 win against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday.

Before its Comcast Center matinee this afternoon against Saint Francis (Pa.), the Terrapin women’s basketball team hadn’t played in 16 days.

It showed against the Red Flash. But not in a bad way.

With a flurry of early points that hinted more at a game refined by a two-week-plus layoff than one rusted by it, the Terps (24-7) dashed out to a commanding early lead before coasting to a 70-48 first-round NCAA Tournament victory.

The Terps next play Georgetown on Tuesday, with the winner likely earning the weighty responsibility of facing defending national champion Connecticut.

“Being able to get back to the tournament is a lot of fun for us,” center Lynetta Kizer said. ” Just going out and being able to step on the court again as a team and going out and being able to play for another run at this title is amazing for us.”

In the venue that last season served as a host site for the team’s run through the WNIT, the youthful Terps offered an emphatic reminder of just how different this year’s team is. They scored the game’s first 13 points before a media timeout had come to pass. Then, they scored 10 of the next 12.

It got as bad as 40-14 in the first half for the Red Flash (22-12), the Northeast Conference champion, and it never got any better than 41-19 in the second.

“I liked how we came out and we set the tone early. That’s something that we had talked about — wanting to come out and jump on them early,” Frese said.

Again, freshman forward Alyssa Thomas did much of the heavy lifting, finishing with a game-high 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Guard Anjale Barrett and forward Diandra Tchatchouang finished with 11 points apiece.

There were imperfections in the win, though. The Terps’ main season-long concern — turnovers — stretched into their second season. The team finished with 23, one fewer than Saint Francis’s two dozen, but it’s a cause for concern heading into another matchup against the press-happy Hoyas.

Check back later for additional coverage and get more updates on Terrapin athletics at TerrapinTrail.com.

shaffer@umdbk.com