Less than 10 seconds into the Terrapins women’s basketball game with Nebraska on Thursday night, guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough took a hand off near the top of the key.
After using center Brionna Jones’ pick, Walker-Kimbrough decided against pulling up for a jumper and attacked the rim instead. Her aggressiveness forced a second defender to slide over to help, so she passed to center Malina Howard, who scored the game’s first points on a routine layup.
The Terps were outscored 34-14 in the paint Saturday in their loss to No. 5 Ohio State — their first-ever loss as in a Big Ten contest — but coach Brenda Frese’s squad made it a focus to pound the ball inside against the Cornhuskers. It outscored Nebraska, 46-16, in the paint.
And the No. 8 Terps’ ability to score inside helped them rebound from their first loss to a Big Ten opponent since 2007 with an 89-50 drumming of Nebraska at the Xfinity Center.
“Just that dominance,” Frese said. “When we can have that inside-outside approach, shooting the basketball from the perimeter — [forward] Tierney [Pfirman], as well — it’s really hard to guard us.”
Much of the offensive production down low came from the starting frontcourt of Jones and Howard, as they combined to score 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting. The duo had no trouble establishing position against Cornhuskers forward Jessica Shepard and center Allie Havers, who stand at 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5, respectively.
In fact, with Walker-Kimbrough, the team’s leading scorer, struggling to score for much of the first half, Howard stepped up to score 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting. It marked a season high for the senior, who entered averaging 4.9 points per game.
“Malina and Bri set the tone from the tip,” Frese said. “That was one of the best games I’ve ever seen from Malina. Just the confidence that she’s playing with and opening things up and making it easier for her teammates.”
Even still, the Cornhuskers (9-5, 0-3 Big Ten) couldn’t keep Walker-Kimbrough silent for long. Averaging 18.1 points per game entering the contest, she went on a personal 7-0 run late in the first half. The preseason All-Big Ten selection finished the opening 20 minutes with nine points and helped the Terps (13-2, 2-1) run out to a 46-21 advantage at intermission.
“We came out with a chip on our shoulder,” Howard said. “We just wanted to get back on the court and play against competition and show what Maryland basketball really is and get back to who we are.”
Even when the Terps couldn’t convert near the basket, they frequently got off their attempts, something they couldn’t do as much against Ohio State. In that contest, Frese’s team committed 20 turnovers that led to 16 Buckeyes points.
That number decreased to 11 Thursday, and their 54 attempts against Ohio State blossomed to 74 versus their third Big Ten foe. The Terps made 39 of those shots on 25 assists, their second highest mark of the year.
“Having fresh legs, I think our transition was amazing,” said guard Brene Moseley, who finished with 14 points and four assists off the bench. “Then in sets, we were knocking down shots.”
The Terps immediately became the class of the Big Ten last season — they finished the conference season 18-0 and claimed the tournament championship — but the Buckeyes showed Saturday that this season’s conference crown might not be destined to return to College Park.
Yet in thumping their second Big Ten opponent this year, the Terps seemed to prove once again why they should be in the conversation as the league’s best squad.
“Who do you pick in terms of when you have all five players on the floor that can score?” Frese said. “It makes us a really dangerous team.”
