Maryland women’s basketball needed an increase in production from its guards.

The Terps lost junior Bri McDaniel, who averaged 10 points a game, to a season-ending injury. Senior Shyanne Sellers has been hindered by a sprained knee that has also limited her performance.

A pair of transfers filled the void the past two games. Sarah Te-Biasu scored a season high 26 points in the Terps’ win against Oregon on Thursday. Kaylene Smikle followed that with a career high 36 points despite being “a little sick” in their win over Washington on Sunday.

“It’s hard right now. We’re trying to get [Sellers] to 100 percent, she’s nowhere near that yet,” coach Brenda Frese said after the Terps’ triumph over the Ducks. “Fortunately for us, other players are stepping up.”

It was an impressive road trip for the Terps. Maryland is the sole team in the Big Ten this season to finish 2-0 on the cross-country road trip to the Pacific Northwest. The win over Oregon also granted Frese her 600th win as Maryland’s coach.

Smikle’s scoring figures dwindled before the two-game trip. The junior began her debut season with the Terps by scoring 20 or more points in five of her first six contests. But she only hit that mark twice in her next 16 appearances.

[No. 16 Maryland women’s basketball avoids late scare, beats Washington, 81-73]

That changed this weekend. The guard, who put up an incredible 18 points at halftime against Washington, couldn’t miss at the opening of the second half.

Smikle opened the frame with a layup on a drive that started behind the three-point line, and then nailed her own 3-pointer from the wing for her third of the game.

“We were joking on the bench, ‘Next one is going to be a pull-up,’ and then she goes to a pull-up,” Frese said. “It was a really neat segment to just be able to see how aggressive [Smikle is].”

Frese’s prediction came true. Smikle worked around a screen set by forward Christina Dalce and drained a midrange jumper through contact, earning an extra free throw. She completed the three-point play and was responsible for the first eight Maryland points of the second half.

Smikle went 13-for-18 from the floor and hit seven free throws to set a new career-high in points. Her career day came after netting 21 points earlier in the week against Oregon. She scored 57 points across the two games, accounting for 36 percent of the Terps’ total points in those contests.

Her backcourt partner was just as good. Te-Biasu set her new season-best against the Ducks three days prior, posting 26 points in Maryland’s most comfortable win of the two games.

[No. 16 Maryland women’s basketball tops Oregon, 79-61, for coach Brenda Frese’s 600th win]

The graduate student was more efficient than Smikle, shooting 9-of-11 from the field. Five of Te-Biasu’s makes were from three-point range, and she was a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line in Eugene.

Te-Biasu’s productivity was needed against Oregon as Sellers failed to score a single point, the first time the guard was held scoreless since Jan. 27, 2022. Te-Biasu paced the Terps in the early stages, converting her first seven shots. Her first miss came in the final four minutes of the second quarter.

The guard credited her scoring outburst to a newfound feeling of scoring aggression. Her 11 attempts from the floor were the second-highest she’s attempted this season while she continued a now six-game streak of trying five or more 3-pointers.

Maryland will rely on Smikle and Te-Biasu as it plays shorthanded at the guard position. Their performances last weekend show they can carry the scoring load while Sellers recoups.

“It’s just the little things and being consistent,” Smikle said. “What we do is going to help us in the long run.”