When Maryland women’s basketball guard Sara Vujacic jumped a passing lane near midcourt toward the end of the first quarter against Coppin State on Friday, the frantic sequence that followed was emblematic of the team’s performance in its season opener.
Vujacic launched an arching try from the top of the three-point arch that bounced out of the rim. Forward Stephanie Jones came down with the offensive rebound, then missed a jumper. She grabbed the board again and kicked it out to guard Blair Watson, who couldn’t connect from deep. And on, and on, it went.
After seven missed field goals and seven offensive rebounds, Jones drew a foul and knocked down a pair of free throws, mercifully bringing the possession to a close. On a day when No. 9 Maryland ultimately cruised to a 93-36 victory, the sloppy display showed just how much greater the final scoreline could’ve been.
“I thought we had a quick trigger,” coach Brenda Frese said. “We were impatient, but I think it was also the emotion and the energy of the first game and the expectation of wanting to do well. … We’ll settle in and I think we’ll get comfortable.”
The Terps (1-0) smothered the Eagles (0-2) on the glass, with an 71-39 advantage in rebounds. Frese’s team forced 20 turnovers and blocked nine shots, preventing Coppin State from establishing anything on offense.
But poor shooting — 38.6 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three — kept Maryland from fully capitalizing on its physical dominance.
“It’s just finding a blend when we’re not hitting because of the advantage we have inside,” Frese said. “In the second half we started going inside and then they started collapsing, so it made it easier to get [better] shots.”
From the moment guard Kaila Charles won the opening tip, the Terps set an aggressive tone. In the first start of her college career, guard Taylor Mikesell drained her first career three-point attempt on Maryland’s opening possession.
The preseason Big Ten favorites didn’t take a moment to appreciate the milestone. Maryland immediately pressured the inbound pass, doubling the ballhander and causing coach DeWayne Burroughs to burn a timeout on the Eagles’ first possession of the game. And the Terps didn’t relent, leading 31-13 after 10 minutes.
The second quarter was slower, as Maryland made only six field goals in the period. But the Terps defense held Coppin State to just seven points, allowing them to take a 48-20 advantage into the break.
Charles, Maryland’s leading scorer last year with 17.9 points per game, gushed during the preseason about the team’s new weapons. With the addition of deep threats Mikesell and Vujacic, the junior expected to have more space to not only create offense for herself, but for her teammates.
But those new faces weren’t always in sync against Coppin State. Between the first and second halves, Maryland didn’t make a 3-pointer for more than 15 minutes, until Mikesell converted with time winding down in the third quarter.
After shooting just 39 percent from the field in the first half, the Terps shot an even worse 35 percent in the second half. But, by nabbing 35 rebounds and turning it over just five times, the team was able to outscore Coppin State 45-16 over the final 20 minutes.
While Maryland struggled shooting as a whole, Mikesell still managed to score a team-leading 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting, including 4-for-10 on 3-pointers. Jones added 17 points and 12 points.
Austin grabbed 21 rebounds, the 12th 20-board game in program history, and scored 12 points for her first career double-double. Austin said her rebounding performance could be attributed to the work she did during the offseason to improve her positioning and timing.
She blocked seven Eagles shots, one off the single-game Maryland record.
The Terps will need to clean up their shooting with No. 10 South Carolina coming up in nine days. Still, the team can feel good about a 57-point triumph to start the year.
“Our goal for the whole season is for everyone to play an integral part,” Charles said. “We have so many weapons, inside and out. We need to be able to utilize that so we can be good as a team and go far.”
