Coach Brenda Frese speaks to the Terps prior to the Terps’ 84-63 loss at Duke on Feb 17, 2014 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

During the news conference after the Terrapins women’s basketball team’s 79-62 win against Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon, coach Brenda Frese made sure to mention that the Terps outrebounded the Yellow Jackets and committed fewer turnovers.

In the past, the Terps have had difficulty against Georgia Tech, a tough rebounding team that also runs a half-court trap defense that can frequently force mistakes. Performance in those areas, Frese said, was critical in the comfortable victory over the Yellow Jackets.

Neutralizing those Georgia Tech strengths helped key the Terps to their sixth win in seven contests, helping them build momentum entering the final two regular-season games.

“For us, it’s just finishing these last two games on the biggest high that we can,” Frese said. “That we know that we’re going into Greensboro with the most confidence.”

Before the matchup, the Terps hoped to avoid a disappointing result that could halt their momentum entering the ACC tournament. Before their game, Virginia Tech pulled off an upset victory at No. 11 North Carolina, and the Terps didn’t want to suffer a similar fate that could hurt postseason seeding.

So the Terps focused on slowing the Yellow Jackets’ strengths while attacking their weaknesses. The Terps outrebounded Georgia Tech, the best offensive rebounding team in the ACC, 49-41. The rebounding helped the Terps dominate the inside, scoring off putback layups on their way to 60 points in the paint against an undersized Yellow Jackets frontcourt.

“We did feel like obviously we did have an advantage there,” Frese said. “We wanted to be aggressive on the boards because they do a tremendous job and we wanted to obviously do a really good job at handling the ball.”

Guards Kaela Davis and Tyaunna Marshall, Georgia Tech’s top scorers, tried to get their team back into the game, but the pair often rushed shots and tried to force their way to the basket. With the Yellow Jackets trailing 48-35 a little more than five minutes into the second half, Marshall launched a long 2-pointer that clanged off the back iron. Davis grabbed the offensive rebound before attempting to slash into a congested lane, where four defenders were waiting.

Center Alicia DeVaughn blocked Davis’ pass, and the Terps scored five seconds later off a quick transition bucket to extend their lead to 15.

“I mean, you look at someone like Kaela and Ty, they’re just great offensive players,” guard Lexie Brown said. “But I mean, when we got the scout, we know their tendencies, so actually it kind of gets a lot easier, because you know exactly what they’re about to do and then you can shut it down.”

Though Brown shot 4-of-14 from the field, including 0-of-6 from three-point range, her passing in transition and defense led to nine assists and five steals. In her return to her home state, the Suwanee, Ga., native’s performance played a significant role in the Terps’ 13 forced turnovers and 18 fast-break points.

“I was definitely excited, more excited to see my family, obviously,” Brown said. “Offensively, I didn’t feel like I played very well, but I feel like I still needed to contribute, so defense was so important in this game for everybody but specifically for me.”

Though the Terps’ final two regular-season games are against two of the bottom three teams in the conference, playing like they did against Georgia Tech by focusing on the opponent’s strengths will be a key factor in both contests. After all, an upset loss to one of those teams could hurt the Terps’ final position before the ACC tournament.

“Anything can happen to anyone,” Frese said. “So I know it’s going to be wild.”