Before the Maryland women’s basketball team traveled to Champaign to play Illinois on Thursday, coach Brenda Frese keyed on things she hoped her team would improve: defense, depth and consistency for 40 minutes.
The Terps accomplished all three in their 94-49 win over the Illini, dominating both ends of the floor from the start and allowing Frese to work her bench in for valuable minutes.
“We were disappointed our last game,” Frese said. “So to take that lesson and to see it tonight continues to show what kind of team this is.”
Frese said it was as strong a performance from her team as she’s seen all season.
Maryland played stifling defense, limiting the Illini 10 points in the first and third quarters. It took Illinois more than 19 minutes to attempt a free throw.
“We were ready to play,” Frese said.
The Illini didn’t make a field goal in the last eight minutes of the third quarter and shot 29 percent in the game.
Frese, who said recent close games have caused her to tighten rotations, used her 12 active players before halftime and had reserves on the floor for almost the entire fourth quarter. The bench scored 47 points.
“We were really able to send in waves tonight,” Frese said.
And after struggling to open and close some of its recent games, Maryland used a 14-0 run to take an 18-4 lead in the first quarter.
Guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough hit a 3-pointer to help jumpstart the early stretch, the first of her four buckets and team-high 14 points. Walker-Kimbrough played 22 minutes, tying for the most on the team.
“We really have been working hard to play a 40-minute game,” Frese said, “and I thought for the most part we did that tonight.”
The team credited its energy on the bench for its improvement over recent games.
“We just have to bring our own energy,” center Brionna Jones said. “It helped a lot with our bench being really excited and really active.”
A big part of Maryland’s success Thursday was also its rebounding, something that’s almost always been an area of strength for the Terps this year. Maryland entered the game ranked second in the country in rebound margin and out-rebounded Illinois 37-16, in the first half, 61-34, in the game and finished with 25 second-chance points.
Guard Destiny Slocum finished with nine assists and two turnovers, helping the team to a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio, which Frese pointed to as “nice to be able to see.”
All of the Terps scored at least 5 points, but just Walker-Kimbrough and Jones (11) were in double-digits.
“It’s a championship mentality,” Frese said. “When you care about each other’s success more than your own, great things are going to happen.”
Maryland closed the game on a 9-0 run, pushing its lead back above 40 and finishing off one of the most complete performances of its season.
“You can tell that it was fun today,” Walker-Kimbrough said. “Not just for the players on the court but also for the bench. It was a really good, fun win today.”
