Terps cruise to 7th win in past 8 games
EVANSTON, Ill. — Diamond Miller understands what’s in store for No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball with the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments approaching and how games like this can help prepare a team.
The Terps overcame a difficult first quarter, then turned things around in a big way. By the time they were finished, they had another lopsided victory.
Miller scored 18 points and Maryland beat struggling Northwestern, 79-54, on Thursday night.
“When we go into the [conference] tournament, we have no breaks and we’re gonna play three games in three days,” Miller said. “That’s what we potentially want to do, so we can’t have a game where we don’t play good, or a quarter where we don’t play good, because we can lose and then go home and then we’re gonna be crying.”
The Terps (20-5, 12-3 Big Ten) certainly weren’t shedding any tears after this one. They shook off a rough start by holding Northwestern (8-16, 1-12) without a field goal in the second quarter and rolled the rest of the way.
Bri McDaniel scored 14 points as the
Terps followed up the program’s most lopsided win over a top-10 opponent with another dominant performance. They also reached the 20-win mark for the 19th year in a row.
“It’s something that I’m really proud of, that consistency factor and so many great players that have come before us as well as currently,” said coach Brenda Frese, now in her 21st season at Maryland. “It’s that legacy for us that’s really important. Also, so many great coaching staffs.”
Coming off a 90-54 romp over then-No. 10 Ohio State on Sunday, Maryland outscored Northwestern 18-2 in the second quarter. The Terps took a 12-point lead into
the locker room and never looked back.
Miller, the Big Ten’s third-leading scorer, had nine rebounds and seven assists. The 6-foot-3 guard went to the locker room holding her hand over her eye early in the third quarter but returned a few minutes later.
McDaniel, a Chicago product, put on a show for her family, as the freshman shot 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Abby Meyers scored 12 points as Maryland won for the seventh time in eight games.
Paige Mott led Northwestern with 15 points, but the Wildcats lost for the 11th time in 13 games. Northwestern missed 15 consecutive field goals at one point and shot just 35% overall, including 2-for-18 on 3-pointers.