When Maryland women’s basketball forward Brianna Fraser notched an and-1 to give the Terps a 10-point third-quarter lead over Nebraska on Thursday, Huskers coach Amy Williams gave the home squad just the spark they needed.
The third-year coach was called for a tech, and after forward Stephanie Jones hit both technical free throws, Fraser missed her chance at an old-fashion three-point play.
But No. 7 Maryland secured the miss, and guard Taylor Mikesell drilled the ensuing triple to extend the Terps’ advantage to a game-high 15 points.
By the start of the fourth quarter, the single-digit edge ballooned to a 24-point onslaught following a 16-0 run in just over three minutes, and Maryland crushed Nebraska, 89-63, behind a dominating second-half performance to notch its eighth-straight double-digit victory.
“We were able to set the tone with our defense and our aggressiveness early,” coach Brenda Frese said. “We settled for a lot of jumpers [early on], but we were a lot more aggressive with our penetration in the second half.”
From the get-go, Nebraska looked lost on offense.
The Huskers (11-14, 6-8 Big Ten) suffered a shot-clock violation on their first trip down the floor, and Maryland (23-2, 12-2) drilled five of its first six attempts to race to a 12-3 lead. Nebraska strained to work the ball over midcourt, as the Terps’ suffocating 1-2-2 press forced eight opposing turnovers in the opening 10 minutes — the visiting Huskers finished with 19 giveaways.
“I love the intensity and the effort we were playing with,” Frese said of her defense that held Nebraska to just 39.3 percent shooting.
While Maryland capitalized on the Huskers’ miscues with 11 points off turnovers before halftime, the visitors didn’t fade away. Nebraska went on an 11-4 run to cut the Terps’ lead to 29-26 with nearly five minutes left in the half, and Maryland suddenly went cold after an explosive start, right when the Huskers began to heat up.
After an authoritative start, the Terps’ defense started giving up open looks from beyond the arc — Nebraska finished 6-for-10 in the first half from three-point range — but Maryland still held a 41-34 lead entering the locker room.
“Nebraska just did a nice job,” Frese said. “Their penetration really put us in some tough positions where we helped too early.”
The game remained close for the opening of the second half, but that changed with the Terps leading 51-43.
Williams’ technical, a pair of Mikesell triples and another long-range make by Watson from deep gave Maryland a 69-45 going into the final 10 minutes, and the Terps still weren’t done. After scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter, Maryland’s run had swelled to 20-0.
Led by guard Kaila Charles’ game-high 19 points — 15 of which came in the second half — five Maryland players finished in double figures. Fraser, who notched 14 points and eight boards off the bench, provided a crucial spark along with Charles during the late-game run.
“I just came in with the mindset of starting with energy on the defensive end,” Fraser said. “And my defense led to my offense.”
Watson finished with her highest scoring total of Big Ten play with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, equalling her most efficient shooting performance of conference play. Watson has reached double-figures in three of her last five contests, as the junior appears to be hitting her stride at the most pivotal juncture of the season.
“With teammates like Bri and Steph, I kind of was just ready for it,” Watson said. “They’re always looking for me.”
That stretch meant that the Terps could cruise to victory against a Nebraska squad that gave Maryland a significant fight in their prior meeting. With the 89-62 win over the Huskers, the Terps notched yet another dominating conference victory to set up Sunday’s matchup against No. 14 Iowa, a meeting of the Big Ten’s top two teams.
“We’re having a lot of fun; we’re working really hard,” Frese said. “What they’re doing is not easy, but they’re making it look easy because they’re really trusting each other.”
