Maryland women’s basketball had 64 points Friday when Central Connecticut State called a timeout in the third quarter. The Terps were obvious in what they were looking for with their next shot — a 3-pointer.
Yarden Garzon tried her hand, then Addi Mack and then Oluchi Okananwa, but they all missed. Garzon regained possession at the top of the arc and dribbled left around a defender before sinking her fifth 3-pointer.
“Probably the best shot of my career. That was fun,” Garzon said. “I’m glad I was able to do it then, just the experience and having fun with it.”
With 13,000 elementary and middle school kids in attendance for field trip day, thousands screamed as Maryland reached 67 points. The No. 7 Terps decimated Connecticut State, 98-30, at Xfinity Center, finishing their non-conference slate undefeated.
Garzon, with family from Israel in attendance, put up 12 points in the first half and 25 overall — the most in her first season at Maryland. The senior guard has cemented her position as a key shooter beyond the arc and force in the paint. Okananwa added 22 points of her own.
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Maryland denied Connecticut State any of its first scoring opportunities, shooting 10-0 in the first three minutes. The early scoring set the precedent for a dominant performance in the front court.
“I could tell this group was ready to play from the minute of the pregame speech and how fired up they were for this game,” coach Brenda Frese said. “You’re seeing they’re playing our standard … I thought our execution was really good in the first quarter, and then the second quarter was our defense.”
The Terps came off a nine-day rest period, where they did not have a bad practice, according to Frese. Central Connecticut State had the opposite with a stacked schedule — its matchup against Maryland was the third game this week.
Maryland continues to impress without crucial players. Saylor Poffenbarger sat out the past two games in a planned rest period for the starting senior guard, according to Frese. Freshman Rainey Welson injured her leg and has played under a minutes restriction the past couple of games.
And the Terps announced another player is out for the season. Senior guard Bri McDaniel announced she would be redshirting the season before the game Friday. McDaniel tore her right ACL on Jan. 14. She has been progressing in recovery, but is not where she needs to be, according to her X post.
“I think I’m very fortunate to be on a team with those young guards who most definitely do not play young,” Okananwa said. “They’re fearless, which is great.”
Maryland put up 39 points in the first quarter, its most this season. The Terps played clean, keeping the Blue Devils off the foul line until the eighth minute in the third quarter. Maryland only recorded seven turnovers in the first half.
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The Terps’ defense forced 18 turnovers. Their dominance allowed the Blue Devils just two points in the second quarter. Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu and Okananwa fueled the defensive efforts with three steals each. Maryland held Central Connecticut State to under ten points in three out of four quarters.
Frese said that she likes the consistency she is seeing from her team, a positive sign as they enter conference play. Maryland’s 98 points are the most it has recorded in a regulation game this season.
“Being undefeated in nonconference play, it’s a credit to this team for their buy-in through all the adversity we’ve had,” Frese said. “It again just continues to show what’s in the slack room and the work that they’re putting in.”
