COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A record-breaking first half powered No. 8 Maryland to a 111-93 victory over Iowa Tuesday afternoon at the XFINITY Center. Senior Katie Benzan broke the program record for three-pointers made in a game with nine, eight in the first half.
Benzan led Maryland (17-2, 13-1 B1G) to its sixth straight win with a career-high 29 points. Sophomore Ashley Owusu added 24 points and 12 assists for her second double-double this season. Sophomore Diamond Miller scored 27 points, 12 in the first five minutes of the game.
"We were disappointed the first time when we weren't able to play this game," head coach Brenda Frese said. "But a blessing in disguise when you look at how much more improved we are as a team.
"Can't say enough about this game, the top two scoring teams in the country. That first half was like a game I've never seen before. To be able to see how unselfish we were – we were ready to play from the tip. Both teams, to be able to score that many points before halftime, was tremendous."
Iowa's freshman Caitlin Clark scored 36 points to lead the Hawkeyes (12-7, 8-7).
Maryland used 16-3 run in the opening minutes to open a 20-point lead, 41-21, at the end of the first quarter. The Terps' 41 points in the opening period tied the program record for points in a quarter, set earlier this year vs. Arkansas.
The Terrapins continued pushing in the second quarter and finished the first half with 68 points scored, the most ever by a Big Ten school in a conference game. Maryland led 68-51 at the break.
"I am creating a shot not only for myself but for my teammates," Owusu said. "When they collapse on me, people are open. When they fly to the outside, I'm open. I am just recognizing the defense and taking what they can give me."
The matchup featured the highest-scoring offenses in the nation: Maryland is ranked No. 1 with 92.4 points per game, followed by Iowa with 87.9 points. The Terrapins had won their previous five games by an average of 35 points, and once again, they got off to a fast start and never looked back.
"Today, they played a zone, which opened up the 3-point line for all of us," Benzan said. "The shots just went down. And we play with such a great point guard in (Owusu). She just finds the open person every single time."
A pair of free throws by Chloe Bibby gave Maryland an 88-62 lead late in the third quarter and even Clark could not shoot Iowa back into the game. Bibby finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Miller made a layup that provided a 101-82 lead, the fifth time Maryland scored over 100 points this season.
"Scoring 100 is just a testament to playing with five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11 great players," Benzan said. "We are all threats on the court, so it's going to be tough to defend us."
Maryland is 105-13 (.890) in Big Ten play over the last seven seasons.
Next, Maryland is scheduled to play at Purdue (6-13, 3-12) Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. The Terps-Boilermakers game will be streamed on BTN Plus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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