South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso reached over Abby Meyers and Brinae Alexander to scoop up a missed shot.
The 6-foot-7 center for the Gamecocks made the second-chance bucket — using her height to overwhelm the Maryland defenders. The play came as a part of a 22-6 run over a five-minute span that the Gamecocks used to rout Maryland women’s basketball Friday in College Park, 81-56.
Cardoso’s score was one of many where South Carolina defenders outmaneuvered Maryland on the boards, using their superior height to scoop the ball up on missed shots before the home team could reach it.
The Gamecocks finished with 23 more rebounds than the Terps’ and scored 18 second-chance points compared to seven for Maryland. They had a distinct height advantage coming into the game, with 6-foot-5 Aliyah Boston and 6-foot-7 Cardoso.
“We don’t have that kind of size to match on the boards so we’ve got to find it in other ways and we will,” coach Brenda Frese said.
Boston, the reigning National Player of the Year, collected her 62nd double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Cardoso also used her height to her advantage, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds.
Two injury-related absences exacerbated the Terps’ matchup problems.
[Maryland women’s basketball’s transfers bring needed experience with South Carolina ahead]
Diamond Miller exited Monday’s game against George Mason early with a knee injury. The 6-foot-3 guard was limited in practice throughout the week and the team ruled her out for the high-profile matchup.
6-foot-2 Emma Chardon also missed the Terps’ home opener after also suffering a knee injury Monday.
Miller also missed last year’s game against the Gamecocks with a different knee injury. Without her, the only returning starter from last year’s team, the Terps looked to Abby Meyers to produce.
The former Princeton star, who scored 19 in the season-opening win over the Patriots, finished the first half with 16 points. Her performance was one of the main reasons Maryland had just a six-point deficit through two quarters.
“For me coming in, I’ve always been that offensive scorer,” Meyers said. “I know for my role, it’s to keep shooting no matter the outcome.”
Her contributions were sorely needed as the rest of Frese’s team struggled to score. Every other Terp went 4-23 from the floor in the first half.
Meyers slowed down in the third quarter, notching just three points. She finished the night with 21 points and six rebounds.
No other Terp filled the scoring gap as the Maryland offense stagnated — none reached double-digit points.
[Maryland teams announce signing day recruits, women’s basketball boasts top-10 2023 class]
Frese’s squad went 5-14 and only made one three-pointer in the quarter. Through the match, Maryland made just 30.3 percent of their field goals and shot 6-for-20 from behind the three-point line.
The Terps didn’t have the height to match the Gamecocks and let the visitors score 40 points in the paint throughout the game.
Maryland struggled to match them, only scoring 20 points in the points as South Carolina curtailed their offense with 11 blocks.
The Terps gave the visitors more offensive chances by fouling. South Carolina added another 13 points from free throws.
Those fouls also cost Maryland key players as Shyanne Sellers and Brinae Alexander both fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Sellers had to be helped off the court with an apparent injury.
While the first two quarters gave hope to the Xfinity Center faithful, the Terps couldn’t find the upset under the weight of an elite opponent and the absence of Miller.
“If you can get that kind of heart and hustle for the 40 minutes that we had, we’ll get there,” Frese said. “I think we’ve got a lot of games that we’ll be able to continue to put under our belts and be able to learn from it and we’re going to have to outscrap and be aggressive.”
