No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball didn’t play a single ranked opponent through its first seven wins this season. The Terps’ neutral-site meeting with No. 16 Kentucky on Wednesday marked their first and only game of such in non-conference play.
Maryland led by as much as 20 late in the fourth quarter. But a Wildcats’ 14-7 scoring run, paired with the Terps shooting just 14 percent in the first five minutes of the frame. cut their lead to single digits.
But just like they had all game, a veteran delivered. Saylor Poffenbarger hit a deep 3-pointer with just a second left on the shot clock. The bucket brought the Terps’ lead back to 11 and forced Kentucky to call timeout — an energy shift Maryland desperately needed in its 74-66 win over Kentucky.
Kaylene Smikle and Yarden Garzon scored a combined 39 points, extending the Terps’ undefeated streak to eight while handing the Wildcats (7-1) their first loss of the season.
[Maryland women’s basketball ranked No. 7 in AP poll, highest this season]
Maryland’s (8-0) roster hosts five seniors and seven players who have Sweet Sixteen experience. It helped against Kentucky’s upperclassmen-led lineup.
Smikle scored 16 points in an explosive first half. Half of them came at the foul line as the guard continued to draw fouls at a high rate.
The senior, Maryland’s leading scorer last season, added three assists and five rebounds. Smikle’s 23-minute showing was her longest this season after missing the first three games with a lower-body injury.
Another Terp also is beginning to show signs of comfort in the offense. One of two Terps transfers, Garzon finally settled into the elite perimeter shooting that she’s known for. The guard went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half and logged Maryland’s lone block.
Poffenbarger and Mir McLean also contributed with strong performances on the glass. They each posted six rebounds, with McLean playing heavy minutes off the bench. The duo held Kentucky’s star center, Clara Strack, to nine points.“I thought Saylor and Mir, they had the toughest assignment with Strack,” Frese said. “She’s been averaging a double-double. They were really, really good.”
[Yarden Garzon broke through in Maryland women’s basketball’s win over George Mason]
The mix of veteran talent and freshman guard Addi Mack led the way. Mack went on her own eight-point run to start the third quarter. In her final play of the run, Mack dove past a defender and put up the layup on the right side of the net, drawing a foul and earning the extra shot.
Frese significantly limited her bench usage in the ranked matchup. Just nine players touched the court and freshman Marya Boiko played less than a minute.
Kentucky was expected to be the stronger defensive team in the matchup, but Maryland came out with a force. Its flaw this season, offensive turnovers, were not a factor. The Terps limited their giveaways to just four in the first quarter.
“We focused on locking into our personnel, pushing pace, getting downhill,” Smikle said. “We know that they weren’t the best transition team.”
The Terps flipped the script on the defensive side, forcing four turnovers in the first minute of the second quarter. Kentucky gave the ball away 14 times in the first half. Maryland’s defensive effort extended its lead to 20 halfway through the third quarter — a strong effort as Big Ten play approaches.
“It was probably one of our best 40-minute complete games from the tip,” Frese said.
