Through the first nine games of the Big Ten season, the Terrapins women’s basketball team dominated its competition.
Aside from the No. 5 Terps’ home loss to No. 7 Ohio State, they were 8-0 and outscored their opponents by 23 points per game, about double the next closest team. The only win during that period by less than 16 points came in their seven-point victory at Michigan.
But coach Brenda Frese’s team began a four-game stretch Tuesday against the three teams right behind them in the conference standings. They traveled to Purdue on Tuesday and will play games against Michigan State (home), Ohio State (road) and Purdue (home) during the grueling stretch.
While it seemed Tuesday might provide the Terps a tough test, they thumped the Boilermakers, 87-67, behind 41 points from guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough. But Friday night, the Terps will face an even greater challenge when No. 17 Michigan State visits College Park. It marks just the fourth time they’ll play a ranked team this season and the first since their loss to the Buckeyes.
“Like I told the team, I love these kinds of games — I’d rather be in these kind of games all year,” Frese said Monday. “To play this kind of competition, to see where we’re at here 1st of February to get us prepared for March. So for us, it’s just taking one game at a time against really, really good competition in our league.”
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The three players who spoke after practice Monday mentioned the word “prepare” in one way or another when discussing the importance of these matchups. Guard Brene Moseley and center Brionna Jones harped on how these tougher contests scheduled over 10 days will help the Terps moving forward.
Guard Chloe Pavlech, meanwhile, discussed various ways for the Terps to prepare for each opponent, whether that be watching film or scouting, studying a player’s tendencies or eating right and getting enough sleep.
“It’s getting down to the wire,” Pavlech said. “It’s more so about legs and mental fatigue and physical fatigue as well.”
The Terps (20-2, 9-1 Big Ten) were originally set to host the Spartans (17-4, 8-2) on Jan. 23, but Winter Storm Jonas dropped nearly 2 feet of snow in College Park and forced the athletic department to postpone the game to Friday.
This meant the Terps would play three high-level games in less than a calendar week, something they’ve done once earlier this season. After falling to No. 1 Connecticut in Madison Square Garden on Dec. 28, the Terps opened conference play with a road win against Illinois three days later before dropping their contest against Ohio State on Jan. 2, the Terps’ first loss in conference play since moving to the Big Ten. Frese admitted fatigue contributed to the 80-71 defeat.
“It’s really going to challenge us,” Pavlech said. “So this stretch is definitely going to test us and see how much better we’ve gotten since then.”
The Terps agree they’re more equipped for the three-game grind this time around. Jones said they know what to expect because they’ve experienced it before. She also added her team has gotten used to frequently traveling from College Park to various Big Ten campuses.
Frese, meanwhile, said the Terps have better depth now, mentioning the development of freshmen forwards Brianna Fraser and Kiah Gillespie from earlier in the season.
Gillespie played two minutes in the Terps’ win over Purdue, but she’s excited for what’s ahead. After all, it’s an opportunity for the Terps to show their conference counterparts that they’re the premier squad in the Big Ten for the second straight year.
“This is the most important part of the season,” Gillespie said. “It’s really going to show us how much we’ve come and…how much more we need to grow to be successful in March.”
