After scoring a season-low 60 points at Virginia on Wednesday, the Maryland women’s basketball team played with more offensive urgency in its 75-54 win over Akron on Saturday.
Guard Blair Watson kicked off a 10-2 run to open the game after knocking down a 3-pointer from the corner on No. 15 Maryland’s opening possession. The Terps outscored the Zips, 24-6, in the opening quarter en route to their fifth consecutive win.
“We came ready to play in the first quarter,” coach Brenda Frese said. “We relaxed out of that, but I thought we can keep playing.”
Guard Kristen Confroy scored 23 points, including five three’s in her home state. Guard Kaila Charles also chipped in 23 while adding 14 rebounds.
“Sometimes the ball goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t,” Confroy said. “Luckily a lot went my way tonight and really helped us fuel the rest of the game.”
The Terps (7-2) found success from behind the arc to take control of the game. They made three of five long range attempts in the opening quarter. Two of those came from Confroy, playing 35 minutes from her hometown of Solon, Ohio, in front of a large crowd of family and friends.
However, the Zips (3-3) stormed back in the second quarter, minimizing their deficit to as few as eight points.
With fewer than eight seconds left in the half, Maryland guard Sarah Myers grabbed a defensive rebound, sprinted to the opposite foul line and sunk a buzzer-beating jump shot to give the Terps an 11-point advantage.
The Terps maintained a comfortable lead for the remainder of the contest.
“We talked about it at halftime — we wanted to come out and play at the level we did in the first quarter,” Frese said. “They did a nice job with that.”
All of Maryland’s past four wins have come away from Xfinity Center. Frese’s squad now returns to College Park for a three-game homestand, starting against Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday.
