With Friday’s game out of reach, No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball had one goal in the third quarter of its annual Field Trip Day: reach the now infamous 67-point mark.
After scoring 64 points, the Terps limited themselves to shooting only from beyond the arc. After Maryland missed four consecutive 3-point attempts, Yarden Garzon hoisted a deep heave.
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Bang.
“Probably the best shot of my career,” Garzon said jokingly. “That was fun. Having this moment, and I know my teammates trusted me to take this shot.”
Garzon’s seven 3-pointers and 25 points led Maryland to a dominant 98-30 victory over Central Connecticut State.
Over 13,000 local school students were in attendance to see the Terps dominate the Blue Devils.
“We really look forward to this field trip game, to be able to have over 13,000 kids here, and it’s really one of our favorite days and games that we get to play,” head coach Brenda Frese said.
Friday’s game was never in question. The Terps came in with a 12-0 record and the Blue Devils entered at 0-10. It was not a fair matchup, and the first quarter proved that.
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The Terps scored a season-high 39 points in the opening 10 minutes and rode that wave to an easy win.
The early wave was very balanced. Garzon led the team with 12 points in the opening quarter, but otherwise, the rest of the team was very consistent. Seven players scored, and the Terps shot an impressive 15-of-21 (71.4%) from the field.
“We’ve had these games at different times,” Frese said. “I could tell this group was ready to play from the minute of the pregame speech and how fired up they were.”
Maryland started the game with back-to-back Oluchi Okananwa buckets that spurred a 10-0 run. Central Connecticut stopped the bleeding, but only briefly — Garzon’s hot shooting highlighted what turned into another long run, this time 15-2.
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The Terps led, 27-7, barely over six minutes into the contest.
Their defense was equally as impressive after that. Maryland held the Blue Devils to just two points in the second quarter, and under 10 points in each of the final three frames.
Frese was introduced on Friday wearing a No. 67 Maryland jersey, sending the youthful crowd into a craze that remained unrelenting throughout the late morning.
“We had to do it for the kids. We knew this would be a fun game,” Frese said. “We enjoyed all of it.”
For the second straight game, the Terps only had nine players. Saylor Poffenbarger and Rainey Welson were held out for precautionary reasons.
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It didn’t matter that they were shorthanded — contributions came from all over the rotation. Four Terps scored in double figures, and its four bench players combined for 20 points.
The Terps learned before the game that Bri McDaniel — who had not played this season — decided to redshirt, still recovering from a torn ACL.
McDaniel’s announcement will significantly affect the Terps, as they were expecting her to return.
With Kaylene Smikle, Lea Bartelme and Ava McKennie already out for the season, the Terps will only have 11 players down the stretch. Poffenbarger and Welson are expected to return relatively soon, but weren’t needed on Friday.
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Maryland will look to Garzon and Oluchi Okananwa to lead it down the stretch — that was also the case on Friday. The duo combined for 47 of Maryland’s 98 points. Okananwa also had 10 rebounds, helping the Terps secure 20 more boards than the Blue Devils.
“They are high-level athletes that were brought here to do exactly that,” Frese said of Okananwa and Garzon. “Their conditioning level is elite and they’re going to have to take on more of the load. They want that.”
Addi Mack continued to impress after missing the last game with an ankle injury — she had 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
Maryland shot 39-of-79 (49.4%) from the field and 8-of-24 (33.3%) from deep.
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The Terps dominated throughout and finished their nonconference slate with an undefeated record.
The Blue Devils were the Terps’ final buy opponent of the season. They’re already shorthanded, and Big Ten play presents new challenges. But Friday was a celebration of the program and the local community.
Three things to know
1. Undefeated nonconference slate. The Terps wrapped up their nonconference slate on Friday and remain undefeated heading into Big Ten play. Maryland won all of its nonconference games by 10 or more points.
2. Rim protection. The Terps were strong defensively in the paint Friday with seven blocks. Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu recorded four — she was the motor of Maryland’s rim protection.
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3. The real test begins. As previously stated, Friday was Maryland’s final nonconference game, and likely its final non-competitive matchup. From here on out, the Terps’ resilience and stamina will be tested in every contest.
