Terps bounce back with win over Gophers
After its seven-game winning streak ended on New Year’s Eve, Maryland women’s basketball bounced back with a 72-64 victory over host Minnesota on Wednesday night at Williams Arena.
Shyanne Sellers and Allie Kubek each scored 15 points to lead the Terps (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten), who lost, 87-81, to Nebraska on Sunday. Sellers added eight assists, three rebounds and three steals in another strong all-around performance, while Lavender Briggs scored 13 points off the bench.
Bri McDaniel also chipped in nine points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Brinae Alexander (eight points), Jakia BrownTurner (six) and Faith Masonius (six) contributed to a balanced scoring attack. The Terps shot 45.2% from the field, 44.4% from 3-point range and 80% from the free throw
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line while holding the Golden Gophers to 25% (7-for-28) from 3-point range.
“That was a lot of fun tonight,” coach Brenda Frese, a former Minnesota coach, said in the locker room after the game. “I felt like after every timeout, we were connected between players, coaches. We understood we could change our defense. That was the first thing my high school coach said. ‘Wow, I’m watching you guys change your defenses, how hard you played, and how unselfish.'”
“So let’s bottle this up and continue it, because this is who we are.”
Minnesota (11-3, 1-2 Big Ten) dropped back-to-back games after losing at No. 4 Iowa on Dec. 30. Maura Braun led the Golden Gophers with 20 points.
After falling behind in the first quarter, the Terps entered halftime leading 43-36 after making their last six shots from the field and sparking a 7-0 run. Six Terps scored four or more points during the half.
Maryland ended the third quarter leading 56-50 and held on despite the Gophers cutting the lead to five points with 1:14 remaining. The Terps have won 60 straight games when they are leading with five minutes to play and are now 14-1 all-time against Minnesota.
Diamond Miller, a former Terps star who was picked No. 2 overall in the 2023 WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team, was in attendance. Maryland returns to Xfinity Center in College Park for its matchup against Purdue on Saturday.