COLLEGE PARK, MD -- No. 8 Maryland turned a 20-2 run to end the first quarter into a golden outcome, blasting Penn State 87-66 on Paint It Gold Night in XFINITY Center on Monday evening. The win marked the Terps' 11th in the past 12 games, including their sixth consecutive victory at home.
Abby Meyers led the way with a season-high 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting along with a team-high six rebounds while
Shyanne Sellers notched 15 total points, with 10 coming in the second half. She also brought down five rebounds.
Diamond Miller scored 14 and grabbed five boards.
The Terps won the battle on the glass by a 35-27 margin. They also held a 38-28 advantage in paint scoring for an all-around dominant effort inside. Nine Terps scored and eight recorded an assist on the night.
Maryland improved to 18-4 overall and 9-2 in the Big Ten. They are now in sole possession of third place in the conference ahead of a massive road test against the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes (second in the Big Ten).
Penn State is now 12-10 on the season and 3-8 in conference play.
Note: Monday's correct attendance number is 5,085.
Brenda's Take
"Loved our start. I thought in our first half especially, we just got after it defensively, turning turnovers into points. Being able to force eight turnovers in the first quarter really set the tone, we were able to get out in transition and make plays for each other. We've been really challenging them on the defensive end and I was pretty pleased for about 30 minutes... Just a great mentality and intensity to the game. We were able to have everybody get in the game, share the basketball and everybody grabbed a rebound. I thought our freshman, especially Bri and Mila, gave us some positive minutes and that's the depth we need to be able to have."
Breaking Down The Action
- After holding a slim 9-7 lead at the midway point in the first quarter, the Terps finished the stanza on a monstrous 20-2 run. Meyers (11) and Miller combined for 19 of the Terps' 29 points as they held a 29-9 lead.
- Both defenses locked down in the second stanza, as the offenses combined for just 21 points.
- Meyers capped off the dominant half for the Terps with a three-pointer as time expired, giving them a 41-18 halftime advantage.
- By the end of the third quarter, Maryland led 66-49. Eight different Terps had scored by that point and all eight also recorded an assist.
Meyers' Golden Night
- In scoring a season-high 24 points, Meyers also recorded some other season and career marks in the victory.
- Meyers' 11 made field goals tied her career-high previously set twice while at Princeton with the last coming on Feb. 18, 2022 against Brown. It was her most this season with the Terps.
- It marked the fifth time this season she scored 20 or more points and her 17th career game with 20-plus points with 12 coming last season at Princeton. Her career-high is 29, against Kentucky on March 19, 2022 in the NCAA Tournament.
- Meyers also grabbed six rebounds, her 13th game this season with at least five boards. She tied her career high with 11 rebounds in the Terps' last game against Michigan.
1,000 Point Update
- Miller continued to rise on the Top 20 all-time in career scoring at 20th with 1,426 standing 18th. She passed Myra Waters (1,423 from 1979-82) and Kris Kirchner (1,425 from 1978-80). Next on the list at No. 17 is Marché Strickland, who scored 1,450 from 1999-2002.
- Meyers now has 1,250 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 1,106 overall. She netted 961 at Florida.
- Brinae Alexander, who crossed the 1,000-point threshold against Rutgers, now has 1,038 career points, with 841 coming at Vanderbilt
- Pinzan is also chasing 1,000 points as she has 996 after scoring four. For her career. She had 916 points at South Florida.
Double-Figures Update
- Meyers hit double-digit scoring for the 17th time this season and 69th in her career, notching that season-best 24 points.
- Sellers' 15-point-performance was the 19th time in 22 games that she has reached double-digit scoring this season. She has done that 31 times overall in her career.
- With 14 points, Miller reached double-figures for the 20th time in 21 games played this season. She's recorded 10 points or more 75 times in her career of 104 games. She has scored 15 or more points in 12 consecutive games now and scored 20-plus points for the eighth time this season.
Home Sweet Home
- The Terps are now 8-2 at home this season, winning their last six games in a row at XFINITY Center.
- Maryland has been a dominant home team, especially over the last decade. The Terps are 589-139 (.809) all-time in College Park, dating back to the inaugural 1971-72 season.
- Maryland is 296-44 (.871) at home under Brenda Frese, whose first season in College Park was the inaugural season of XFINITY Center. That is among the top 10 toughest places to play in the country.
B1G Time
- The Terps are now 192-52 (.789) all-time against their Big Ten opponents.
- Since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15, the Terrapins are 150-22 (.872) vs. their conference opponents, including their 19-3 record in the Big Ten Tournament.
- In the 21 years under Frese, the Terps are 161-26 (.861) against their Big Ten opponents.
- Frese is 174-31 (.849) all-time vs. Big Ten opponents, which includes her time at Minnesota and at Ball State.
- The Terrapins are also 131-8 (.942) when they score 70 points or more in Big Ten games since 2014-15.
- Since their first year in the Big Ten, the Terps are 115-4 (.966) when holding their league opponents to 70 points or less.
Series History
- This was the 35th all-time matchup between Maryland and Penn State.
- The Terps own the series at 21-14 and have won all 13 match-ups since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15.
Up Next
- The Terps will hit the road for a top-10 matchup against No. 6 Iowa (17-4 overall, 9-1 Big Ten) on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 8:30 pm. The teams are separated by a half-game in the Big Ten standings, behind only Indiana (20-1, 10-1). The game will air on ESPN.
