COLLEGE PARK, MD -- No. 13 Maryland used a 23-5 run in the third quarter to pull away from Michigan State on Saturday afternoon at the XFINITY Center, 94-85. The win was the Terps' sixth consecutive one, with the last loss coming over a month ago on December 4.
The two sides were knotted at 40-40 heading into halftime, but Maryland outscored Michigan State 30-11 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. The Terps excelled in transition all game, finishing with a 20-4 advantage in fastbreak points. Maryland was also incredibly efficient from the floor, making 34-of-63 shots (54 percent). Its 94 points were the second most in a game this season.
Diamond Miller led the way for the Terps offensively with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
Shyanne Sellers did a little bit of everything, recording 19 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Lavender Briggs scored in double-figures for the third consecutive game, notching a season-high 15 points. For the second consecutive game,
Abby Meyers was sizzling from three-point range, hitting three of her five attempts from downtown and finishing with 11 total points.
Faith Masonius also netted 12 points to give the Terps five players in double-figures.
With its sixth consecutive victory, Maryland improved to 13-3 on the season and 4-1 in conference play. On the other side, Michigan State dropped to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten.
Brenda's Take
"Obviously, a game of runs with two really competitive teams. This is what Big Ten league play is going to look like every single night. I loved our poise and our composure down the stretch and just being able to get so many contributions. When you look at our box (score), we have five different players in double-figures, sharing the basketball again with our assist-to-turnover ratio. I thought our third quarter, like I told the team, was our X-factor. The fact that that quarter was 30-11, being able to get to the free throw line was big for us; we had them in the bonus early. And then anytime you can shoot 87 percent from the free throw line is big."
Player Perspective
"I think it was more of a change of focus," Sellers said of the team's second-half mindset. "After halftime, we kinda regrouped and talked about the things we needed to work on. We just tried to change our focus to lock in defensively and you saw that with them only scoring 11 points in the third quarter. It was just us trying to stay together. It was a close game in the first half and we just tried to expand our lead in the second and change the game."
Breaking Down The Action
- After falling behind 7-2, the Terps rattled off 10 consecutive points as Miller and Lavender Briggs each scored four points. Abby Meyers scored five points in the final 1:31 of the first quarter to give Maryland a 17-16 lead.
- Both sides got it going offensively in the second stanza, combining for 47 points. Miller notched eight points while Meyers added a pair of threes to lead the Terps, who went into halftime tied 40-40 with the Spartans.
- The Terps pulled away in the third quarter behind a 13-0 run, with seven of those 11 points coming at the free throw line.
- Bri McDaniel provided the exclamation point for a dominant Maryland third quarter, stopping on a dime knocking down a three as the buzzer expired to put the Terps up 70-51 heading into the final ten minutes of action.
- The Spartans got within 11 midway through the fourth, but Miller made two shots in the paint to push the lead back to 76-61.
1,000 Point Update
- Miller moved to 26th in career scoring at Maryland with 1,316. She passed Stephanie Jones (1,302 from 2017-20) in the game against the Spartans. Next on the list at No. 25 is Stephanie Cross (1,349 from 1995-98).
- Meyers now has 1,180 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 1,066 overall. She netted 961 at Florida.
- Pinzan is chasing 1,000 points as she has 978, for her career. She had 916 points at South Florida.
- Brinae Alexander is also approaching the 1,000-point threshold as she has 976 career points, with 841 coming at Vanderbilt.
Double-Figure Update
- Maryland had five players in double-figures for the first time since the DePaul game on Nov. 25, 2022.
- With a game-high 25 points, Miller reached double-figures for the 14th time in 15 games played this season. She's recorded 10 points or more 69 times in her career. It was the sixth time this season Miller scored 20 or more.
- Sellers' 19 point-performance was her 11th consecutive game scoring 10 or more. She has accomplished that in 14 of 16 games this season and 27 times overall.
- Briggs notched 15 points, giving her double-digit scoring for the fourth time this season, third game in a row, and 56th for her career.
- Meyers hit double-digit scoring for the 14th time this season and 66th in her career, notching 11 points.
- Masonius scored 12 points, marking the fifth time this season and 17th time in her career she has scored at least that many points.
B1G Time
- The Terps are now 187-51 (.786) all-time against their Big Ten opponents.
- Since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15, the Terrapins are 145-21 (.873) vs. their conference opponents, including their 19-3 record in the Big Ten Tournament.
- In the 21 years under Frese, the Terps are 155-25 (.862) against their Big Ten opponents.
- Frese is 168-30 (.849) all-time vs. Big Ten opponents, which includes her time at Minnesota and at Ball State.
- Since joining the league in 2014, Maryland is 66-6 (.917) against Big Ten teams at home.
- The Terrapins are also 128-8 when they score 70 points or more in Big Ten games since 2014-15.
Home Sweet Home
- Maryland has been a dominant home team, especially over the last decade. The Terps are 587-139 (.808) all-time in College Park, dating back to the inaugural 1971-72 season.
- Maryland is 293-44 (.869) 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.
Series History
- The Terps continue to dominate the series against the Spartans, now holding a 17-2 advantage, including six consecutive victories.
Up Next
- The Terps will hit the road to face the No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers in a battle of two top-15 teams on Thursday, Jan. 12. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 pm on Big Ten Network.
