The Terrapin women’s basketball team had some trouble with St. Bonaventure in their meeting last season, holding on down the stretch for an eight-point win.
Last night, the Terps beat the Bonnies by 49.
Behind an active full-court press and 25 points from sophomore guard Shay Doron, the Terps won their fourth-straight game, a 91-42 trouncing in front of 2,273 at Comcast Center.
“Now that was fun. I don’t have any other way to put it,” Terp coach Brenda Frese said. “I’m proud to see our unselfishness and us working together. Big things are going to happen for this team if we can play like that.”
Freshmen forwards Laura Harper and Crystal Langhorne each recorded a double-double. Doron and guard Ashleigh Newman (11 points) combined for 6 of 10 shooting from the 3-point range.
As a team, the Terps (6-1) shot 47 percent from behind the arc.
“We needed to have a great shooting night like that from the 3-point line, especially with teams getting ready to scout us,” said Frese, who was disappointed by her team’s 15 percent shooting from behind the arc against Xavier Saturday. “When you challenge this team, they respond.”
St. Bonaventure stuck with the Terps in the first few minutes, tying the game at four on a jumper by guard Mandi Pierce less than four minutes in. But the Terps used a tenacious press over the next several minutes, forcing three consecutive Bonnie turnovers to start a 19-0 run.
The Terp defense remained strong even after switching from the press, holding St. Bonaventure without a field goal for more than 15 minutes.
Despite shooting just 35 percent, the Terps led 38-17 at the break. St. Bonaventure had nearly as many turnovers (15) as they did points.
“Obviously, we feel we have a lot of offensive weapons,” Frese said. “Defensively, we felt like we’ve been behind, and that’s what’s been holding us back. Our challenge has really been there. It’s exciting to see how the team responded to the defensive challenge and getting up and denying people and being able to get after and force the early turnovers.”
The Bonnies came out stronger in the second half, shooting 35 percent as opposed to their 19 percent performance in the first half. But the Terps also played more aggressively, tightening their defense for a 14-4 run.
After shooting too early against the Bonnies’ zone in the first half – the first time the Terps really faced the strategy all season – the team was more patient in the second half.
“We started to have a lot better ball movement,” Frese said. “I thought we did a much better job of relaxing and getting a lot better shots in the second half.”
Newman began the 3-point barrage with just more than 12 minutes left, extending the lead to 59-25. Doron added two 3-pointers minutes later to put the Terps up by 42. Newman and guard C’Vette Henson combined for three more in the final two minutes.
The Terps have won every game when they score more than 51 points. They won two of their last three games by more than 40 points.
“We’re trying to prove something; we’re trying to prove that we belong at the top,” Doron said. “I think that’s intimidation. And anyone that comes in here has to know that they’re going to have to fight it out any way they can. If they can.”
