A Comcast Center crowd of more than 2,350 rose to its feet last night as Sequoia Austin took a pass from Lynetta Kizer last night and floated in a layup just seconds before the final buzzer sounded.
The late score against Delaware State from the little-used former walk-on meant little to the game’s final outcome. But in a broader perspective for the Terrapins women’s basketball team, it cemented program history.
With a 108-33 shellacking, the No. 5 Terps set an all-time record for single-game dominance. The 75-point win over the Hornets is the largest margin of victory in the team’s 40-year history, eclipsing the previous high of 71 set in 1975 and 1993.
“We’ve challenged this team. We’ve talked about and shown them other scores for when we feel like we can impose our presence and be more dominating,” coach Brenda Frese said. “Previously, we might have looked at the score. Tonight, we just continued to play hard.”
“I realized they were a very good team,” Delaware State coach Ed Davis said. “But I didn’t realize how good they were until the kids got on the floor.”
The game was never in doubt for the Terps (10-0), who closed the first half on a 26-3 run to take a 43-point lead into halftime, their largest lead at the break in any game this season.
Austin’s performance late in the second half offered a microcosm of just how overmatched the Hornets (2-7) looked last night. She set career highs in nearly every statistical category in just 11 minutes on the court, helping the team’s four bench players (44 points) outscore the entire Delaware State team (33) alone. Overall, eight of nine Terps scored between 10 and 15 points last night, with only Kizer finishing in single digits.
“It was just really exciting to see how my team really supported me when I got in the game,” said Austin, who finished with 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting in just 11 minutes. “[It was great] just how everyone played and kept the energy and wasn’t looking at the score; playing just like it was the first 11 minutes.”
Like Austin, Townsend also set new career highs last night, netting 10 points in 21 minutes. She played three more minutes in the game than Kizer (18 minutes, nine points), who was punished by Frese for missing a class earlier this week.
“I was kind of not used to it,” said Townsend, who entered the game for the first time before the 14-minute mark. “Last year I probably would have been nervous, but now I’m OK.”
Forward Tianna Hawkins also managed quite well in her own on-court family battle. In a contest pitting her against her twin sister, freshman guard-forward Tierra Hawkins, the older Tianna won handily.
Often matched up together defensively, Tianna held Tierra at bay for nearly the entire game. Tierra didn’t make her first field goal until more than five minutes into the second half, and she finished the game with just seven points on 3-for-17 shooting. On the other end, Tianna totaled 13 points and nine rebounds.
“I did not ask for that [defensive] assignment, but I guess it just came from Coach’s decision,” Tianna Hawkins said. “In regards to guarding her, I should know her best; we’re twins and we’ve played against each other plenty of times before. … I didn’t let the fact that she was my sister get to me. I just played her like anyone else.”
“When I came onto the court, I thought I wasn’t nervous,” Tierra said. “But I was nervous. This is something new to me.”
Frese could do little to hide her smile as she spoke to reporters after the game, basking in the glow of what was a landmark victory that may never again be touched. And with a Sunday contest on the road at George Mason the only thing standing between the team and a 17-day holiday break, tonight’s game was nothing short of perfect for the Terps.
“We just had a lot of fun tonight,” Frese said. “You can just see what makes this team so special.”
vitale@umdbk.com
