BALTIMORE — No. 18 Maryland women’s basketball set up its full-court press early. On UMBC’s second offensive possession, the Terps forced a 10-second violation. Forward Allie Kubek sank a 3-pointer seconds later.

Maryland’s suffocating defense forced seven first quarter turnovers and 24 throughout the game. It generated 23 points off of Retriever giveaways.

The Terps soared past UMBC Monday night, 74-32, to earn a season-opening victory on the road. Maryland won its season-opener for the 16th consecutive campaign.

“I thought we did a great job defensively,” guard Shyanne Sellers said. “We wanted to force them to go over our lines … I’m really impressed with this game, our defense in a new defense.”

Maryland (1-0) racked up 11 points off turnovers in the first half. Kubek’s 3-pointer was the first bucket, while Kaylene Smikle and Sarah Te-Biasu each grabbed steals that resulted in uncontested layups.

Kubek accounted for seven first half points and grabbed nine rebounds. Te-Biasu and Sellers led the Terps in scoring, combining for 17 in the first half. The pair ended the half with six of Maryland’s final nine points.

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But the Terps committed 14 turnovers in the opening half, preventing them from growing their lead to an insurmountable advantage. The mistakes nearly matched their outing total from last year, when they averaged just over 15 per game as one of the most turnover-prone teams in the Big Ten.

UMBC (0-1) went on a 12-6 scoring run midway through the second quarter, spurred by a pair of three’s from guard Jordon Lewis. The Retrievers remained within 12 points for the entire half and entered halftime down 33-22.

Then, Maryland’s presence down low emerged. Sellers kickstarted the half with a layup through contact and finished off the three-point play with a free throw.

Transfer guard Saylor Poffenbarger scored her first points as a Terp in the paint and senior Christina Dalce put back two offensive rebounds in the third quarter. Kubek converted two close shots. All of the Terps’ points in the frame came from layups aside from Sellers’ free throw.

The Terps limited their turnover output in the third, giving away the ball just twice. They out-scored the Retrievers by 10 points in the period.

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Maryland’s presence in the paint remained in the final quarter.

Sellers caught a long pass in traffic, then dumped off a dish to a cutting Dalce for an easy two points less than a minute in. Poffenbarger then led a fast-break, flipping an assist off to graduate student Mir McClean for her first points of the night.

Guard Bri McDaniel encapsulated the Terps’ presence down low late. She caught a pass at the top of the key and drove to the basket, hoisting a shot through contact from a UMBC defender to bank in a layup. Maryland scored 50 of its total points in the paint.

“The second half, a lot more poise and composure,” coach Brenda Frese said. “Offensive rebounding was key, plus-30 on the glass. Being able to get that inside presence.”

Poffenbarger added a 3-pointer in the final frame — just the Terps’ second of the entire game — for seven points in her Maryland debut. Dalce led all scorers with 13 points and added 10 rebounds.

The Terps led from start to finish in a dominating 42-point victory. They struggled shooting from deep and committed over 20 turnovers, but their ability to score easy layups in the second half earned a convincing win.

“We have a lot of new pieces and we’re just trying to figure out how to blend them,” Dalce said. “But this was an exciting start for us.”