Maryland women’s basketball guard Sarah Te-Biasu drove baseline before firing a quick jump pass through traffic to Kaylene Smikle. The Rutgers transfer didn’t hesitate, rising up and burying a 3-pointer with just seconds left in the opening quarter.
Smikle’s basket put the Terps up three, a lead they would never relinquish.
No. 18 Maryland converted on a season high 10 3-pointers on Thursday against Coppin State. Three different players generated multiple scores from distance, and Smikle dominated with a game-high 20 points as the Terps cruised to a 70-47 win.
Smikle hit three first quarter 3-pointers, alone surpassing Maryland’s (2-0) total of two in Monday’s season-opening win over UMBC. The junior guard scored 11 of the team’s 15 first-quarter points.
“She’s a big time player, she’s a scorer,” coach Brenda Frese said. “When we’re having slow starts like that, just having those players can give us that offensive firepower that we need.”
Coppin State (1-1) kept pace, forcing five turnovers and limiting the Terps to just one made field goal through the final four minutes of the quarter.
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A Tiffany Hammond 3-pointer cut the Eagles’ deficit to just two points in the opening minute of the second quarter. It served as the road team’s only made basket in the 10-minute period.
Maryland’s stout defense prevented clean Coppin State looks. They restricted the Eagles to a nightmarish 1-for-15 shooting clip — a 6.7 percent conversion rate on second-quarter field goals.
The Terps’ offense continued to hum the rest of the period. Back-to-back triples from Te-Biasu and guard Saylor Poffenbarger capped a 23-1 run to close out the first half.
Bench depth was key for the Terps in that span. 64 percent of Maryland’s second-quarter points came from non-starters in Poffenbarger, Mir McLean, Bri McDaniel and Amari DeBerry. Coach Brenda Frese used an 11-player rotation, which proved crucial out of the break.
A pair of free throws and another triple extended Smikle’s total to a game-high 20 points.
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Nine points from Coppin State forward Laila Lawrence provided it a spark midway through the third. But more lockdown Maryland defense forced back-to-back Eagles turnovers, resulting in a plethora of fast break opportunities.
A loose ball steal picked up by Christina Dalce translated to a quick coast-to-coast layup on the other end. Maryland ended the night with 18 points off turnovers.
“When we’re disrupting them and making them uncomfortable, it translates to us and makes us play easy,” Poffenbarger said.
The Terps feasted in transition with 16 fast break points while still maintaining measured control offensively. Maryland recorded 12 turnovers, an improvement from Monday’s tally of 22.
A pair of fourth quarter layups from DeBerry contributed to 26 total Maryland paint points, extending its lead to 30 with just minutes remaining.
Maryland corralled at least 40 total rebounds for the second consecutive game — nine of its 11 active players had at least one. Poffenbarger provided a team-high 10.
“Finding the ball, crashing every time is a big emphasis to me,” Poffenbarger said. “Rebounding to me is a controllable, so I think to get my game going, it’s something that I need to start off doing.”
Late second-chance scoring efforts provided the Terps with nine quick rebounds in the final frame. They dominated time of possession to close out the emphatic victory, leading for all but four minutes.
