FORT WAYNE, IN -- Behind a dominant third quarter and four separate performances of at least 13 points, the No. 15 Terps blasted Purdue Fort Wayne, 88-51, on Wednesday afternoon in the Gates Sports Center in the final non-conference matchup for the Terps.
One of the game's biggest storylines consisted of the battle between sisters, Shyanne and Shayla Sellers. The sisters played together at Aurora High School for two years before Shayla graduated and joined the Mastodons, where she is now an All-Horizon League guard as a senior. Shyanne notched a team-high 18 points for the Terps while Shayla recorded six in the loss.
Meyers led the way early for Maryland and finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Diamond Miller did a little bit of everything for the Terps, adding 17 points, six boards, four assists, four blocks and two steals. Brinae Alexander was stellar off the bench yet again, totaling 13 points, including a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from three.
The Terps opened up a 16-point lead heading into halftime and never looked back from there. They finished with nine makes from three as well as a 27-2 advantage in fastbreak points. Maryland also notched 20 total assists on 33 made field goals and all nine Terps who saw the floor scored.
Maryland is now 10-3 for the year while Purdue Fort Wayne dropped to 4-8.
Brenda's Take
"Really pleased with our effort as a team. That was a really solid 40 minutes. Obviously, we love these games any time we can take a player back home. We had set this one up for Shy and her sister to have that as a homecoming and it was a wonderful two days between having all the family and friends there and seeing the matchup of them go against each other…I thought we were very unselfish sharing the basketball with one another and being able to play both ends of the floor to round out our last non conference game as we get ready to go into conference play."
From Shy
"It feels great," the sophomore said of the homecoming game between her and her sister. "I know we've been talking about this game all year. (The family and friends in attendance) just seeing us be on the same court again, we haven't been on the court together since 2019, was just a really cool experience. I'm just glad everyone got to experience it."
Breaking Down The Action
- After the two sides were knotted at nine apiece, the Terps finished on an 11-4 run to take a 20-13 lead through one quarter. Meyers keyed the run with five points herself, including a three-pointer.
- Shayla Sellers kicked off the second stanza with a three-pointer for the Mastodons, but Maryland responded with a 10-0 run, capped off by a corner three from Elisa Pinzan that forced Purdue Fort Wayne into a timeout.
- The Terps continued to extend their lead, outscoring the Mastodons 19-10 in the quarter to head into halftime up 39-23. Maryland was keyed by 5-of-8 shooting from deep and a 15-0 fastbreak point advantage.
- Maryland outscored the Mastodons by 20 (32-12) in the third quarter, opening up its biggest lead of the day at 36 points. Miller notched 10 points in the stanza to spur the run.
1,000 Point Update
- Miller continues to stand 30th in career scoring at Maryland with 1,254. She is chasing Belinda Pearman at No. 29, who totaled 1,284 from 1981-84.
- Meyers now has 1,130 points in her career with 947 in her three seasons of action at Princeton before joining the Terps this season.
- Lavender Briggs, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark in Maryland's game against Notre Dame, now has 1,029 overall. She netted 961 at Florida.
- Pinzan is chasing 1,000 points as she has 969, for her career. She had 916 points at South Florida.
- Brinae Alexander is also approaching the 1,000-point threshold as she has 963 career points, with 841 coming at Vanderbilt.
Double-Figure Update
- With 17 points, Miller reached double-figures for the 11th time in 12 games played this season. She's recorded 10 points or more 66 times in her career.
- Sellers' 18 point-performance was her eighth consecutive game scoring 10 or more. She has accomplished that in 11 of 13 games this season and 24 times overall.
- Meyers hit double-digit scoring for the 11th time this season and 63rd in her career, notching 14 points.
- Alexander recorded 13 points, reaching double-digits for the sixth time this season and 48th in her career.
Series History
- The Terps are now 2-0 all-time against the Mastodons, with the first win coming on Feb. 9, 2022 by a 84-50 margin.
Up Next
- The Terps resume Big Ten play when they host Minnesota on Friday, Dec. 30 at 2 pm. That game can be caught on B1G+.
