When the Maryland women’s basketball team traveled to Madison Square Garden to face UConn last December, the top-ranked Huskies had won 46 straight games, all by double digits. Yet with two minutes to play, the Terps faced a five-point deficit.
UConn went on to earn an 83-73 win, and the four-time reigning national champions haven’t lost since. But Thursday night, in front of the first sold-out Xfinity Center crowd for a women’s basketball contest since 2007, No. 4 Maryland has another chance to snap No. 1 UConn’s winning streak, which now stands at 86 games. The Huskies haven’t lost since Stanford beat them, 88-86, in overtime on Nov. 17, 2014.
“You have to respect the fact that what they’ve accomplished is truly remarkable, it inspires all of us to want to be better,” coach Brenda Frese said. “But at the same point for us it’s not about the streak, it’s for us coming out like we do for every contest and wanting to win a game.”
UConn has beaten Maryland in each of their previous five meetings. The Terps’ most recent loss came last year in New York City, but the Huskies also knocked Frese’s team out of the 2015 NCAA Tournament with a 81-58 win in the final four.
Last season’s effort against the Huskies gave the Terps confidence they could compete with the country’s best team, and that notion hasn’t wavered entering Thursday night’s matchup. Despite losing four seniors from a year ago, the Terps (12-0) returned their two best players — guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and center Brionna Jones — and brought in the nation’s top recruiting class.
In addition, Frese said close wins against No. 8 Louisville and Washington State earlier this season served as preparation for her team’s battle with the Huskies.
“We come in and we have the same mindset as always,” Walker-Kimbrough said. “We play Maryland basketball, and we stick to that; defend, rebound, and run.”
Maryland will face a different UConn team from last season. The Huskies lost forward Breanna Stewart, who was a three-time Associated Press National Player of the Year and the No. 1 pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft. Coach Geno Auriemma is also without guard Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck, who went second and third in the draft, respectively.
Still, UConn (11-0) has continued to dominate, defeating then-No. 2 Baylor by 11 on Nov. 17 and winning at No. 2 Notre Dame by the same margin Dec. 7. After starting the season No. 3 in the AP Top 25, the Huskies are back at the top of the rankings. Katie Lou Samuelson, a versatile 6-foot-3 sophomore, is the team’s best scorer (20.6 points per game), one of its best rebounders and shoots 47.4 percent from behind on the arc.
Against the new-look Huskies, Jones and Walker-Kimbrough, who have been more vocal in encouraging their younger teammates this season, preached the necessity to move on to the next play.
“They’re going to go on their runs, we’re going to go on our runs,” Walker-Kimbrough said. “We can’t focus on the past, we have to focus on the present, and take advantage of the present and what they’re giving us.”
The Terps will look to score in the paint with Jones, who scored 24 points in last year’s matchup. She said that performance gives her confidence going into Thursday’s game. The 6-foot-3 Havre de Grace native will likely face 6-foot-1 sophomore Napheesa Collier in the post.
“Staying true to myself and playing how I know I can play will be the key to this game,” Jones said.
Freshman guard Destiny Slocum, who has started every game this season, has yet to play UConn but isn’t fazed by going up against the No. 1 team in the country. She’s looking forward to helping the Terps achieve a feat no team has accomplished the past two years.
“I think it’s just exciting,” the Slocum said, “Getting that battle in the middle of the season is really good for our journey and seeing where we are right now.”
