Welcome to The Diamondback Sports Digest. Every week, we send you a rundown of the latest Maryland athletics news.
Terps fans had a disappointing week — women’s basketball saved it from being a downright disaster.
In this week’s newsletter, we’ll talk about Maryland football’s dismal outing against Rutgers, men’s basketball’s narrow defeat against a ranked opponent and women’s basketball’s strong showings.
More of the same for football
Maryland football has dominated Rutgers in recent years, beating the Scarlet Knights by an average margin of 26 points over the last three seasons. But as the theme’s been for most of this year, the Terps fell short of their standard on Saturday.
Rutgers downed Maryland, 31-17, after a rough outing from quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. The redshirt junior threw a fourth-quarter interception, continuing his struggles from the previous three games. He only has two passing touchdowns to five picks in that span.
The Terps (4-6, 1-6 Big Ten) dropped five of their last six contests and acknowledged each upcoming game is a must-win ahead of the Rutgers outing. They looked to win two of their final three contests, with the Scarlet Knights their easiest opponent by a considerable margin.
Now, Maryland’s already-slim bowl chances look even more grim.
Men’s basketball’s narrow defeat
The Terps had chances down the stretch — including a zero-for-two trip to the free-throw line from DeShawn Harris-Smith that could’ve tied the game with under a minute to go — but fell to No. 15 Marquette, 78-74 on Friday.
It was Maryland’s first real test of the season after starting the year with three 30-point wins. Junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and freshman Derik Queen, who each scored 24 on high efficiency, showed strong performances, but it wasn’t enough.
The Terps had no answer for star Marquette guard Kam Jones, who scored a game-high 28 points for the Golden Eagles.
Coach Kevin Willard’s team is back in action at Xfinity Center on Tuesday to take on Canisius (0-5) and then travels to New Jersey for a neutral site bout against a struggling Villanova (2-3) on Sunday.
Women’s basketball to the rescue
No. 11 Maryland women’s basketball, one of the lone bright spots in College Park, beat Syracuse on the road Wednesday and dismantled Towson on Sunday.
Rutgers transfer Kaylene Smikle eclipsed 20 points in both wins and has reached that mark in four straight contests. She’s averaging a team-high 18.6 points while the Terps’ next six leading scorers are averaging between eight and 11.
Maryland had some shaky stretches in the win over the Orange, even trailing by double-digits at one point, but staved off its former ACC foe for the 11-point win.
The Terps have a manageable schedule for the rest of the calendar year but will face three top-five teams in January.
Best Bits
- Maryland field hockey fell to Duke on Friday, 1-0, exiting the NCAA tournament in the opening round for the first time since 2015.
- A trio of Maryland football commits helped lead Spalding to a perfect 12-0 season and its third straight MIAA championship.
- The pairing of Maryland men’s basketball’s Derik Queen and Julian Reese is still a work in progress.
- Seth Nevills is off to a perfect start in his sixth season of college wrestling.
Stat of the week:
Wide receiver Tai Felton set Maryland football’s single-season receptions record on Saturday with 86 catches on the year, surpassing now-Chicago Bears receiver D.J. Moore’s mark of 80 in 2017.
Quote of the week:
“We’re running out of chances and opportunities,” Maryland football coach Michael Locksley said of his team’s bleak bowl game chances.
