Box Score MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Maryland women's basketball surged past Minnesota in the second half to thwart the Gophers, 72-64. The Terps open the New Year with a win on Wednesday night at the Williams Arena.
The Terps (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) bounced back after suffering a road loss to Nebraska on Dec. 31. Junior guard Shyanne Sellers led the Terps with 15 points, eight assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Sellers was one of three Terps to record double-digits in the game.
Allie Kubek and
Lavender Briggs added strong performances, scoring 15 and 13 respectively. Briggs followed up her career night in her last outing to provide a strong bench performance as the Terps scored 19 bench points as a team.
Bri McDaniel had an all-around night with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Maryland has dominated the series between Minnesota over the years. The Terps have lost to the Gophers just once in its program's history and came away victorious in seven straight meetings.
Minnesota (11-3, 1-2 Big Ten) dropped back-to-back games after losing at No. 4 Iowa on Dec. 30. Sophomore guard Maura Braun paced all Gophers scorers with 20 points.
Breaking Down The Action
- Sophie Hart scored the first eight points for Minnesota, but 3-pointers by Lavender Briggs and Shyanne Sellers kept the Terps close. They went into the first media timeout trailing 15-11.
- Maryland trailed 21-18 after the first quarter. The Terps relied heavily on their 3-point shooting, making five during the period. Allie Kubek knocked three 3-pointers of her own to lead all scorers with nine points.
- The Terps were knotted up at 28-28 during the second quarter's media timeout. Maryland held the lead for the majority of the quarter to that point after a 7-0 run that carried over from the first quarter.
- The Terrapins entered halftime leading 43-36 after making their last six shots from the field and keying a 7-0 run. Six Terps scored four or more points during the half.
- Maryland escaped the third quarter by holding onto a 56-50 lead. Sellers, Kubek and Briggs all reached double-figures.
- The Terps held onto their lead in the final minute despite the Gophers cutting the lead to five points
Double-Figure Factors
- Sellers (15 points) has scored in double-figures in 10 of 14 games this season and 51 games in her career. It was the sixth time this season and tenth in her career with 20-plus points.
- Kubek scored in double-figures for the seventh time this season with 15 points. She has now scored 10-plus points in 40 career games with 33 coming at Towson before transferring to Maryland.
- Briggs scored 13 points after her career night against Nebraska. It was her fourth game this season in double-figures and 65th time in her career.
Records & Milestones
- Brinae Alexander has made 103 three-pointers in her two years as a Terrapin, passing Terri Daniels (101 from 2000-03) for No. 18 all-time. Next on the list is Diamond Miller (2019-23) and Chloe Bibby (2020-22) who are tied at No. 17 all-time with 106.
- Alexander's Maryland career three-point percentage is 43.0%, which is third in Maryland history, behind just Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (45.9% from 2014-17) and Katie Benzan (47.4% from 2021-22). Lavender Briggs trails at No. 11 all-time, with a 3-point percentage of 38.5%, behind Marissa Coleman (2006-09 from 2006-09).
- Allie Kubek scored her 800th point of her career in the first quarter. She scored 15 tonight to increase her total to 807 points.
Terps Dominating The Series
- Wednesday's matchup was the 15th all-time with Maryland and Minnesota. The Terps own the series at 14-1 and have won seven straight.
- Most recently, they won 107-85 in College Park on Dec. 30, 2022.
- Maryland head coach Brenda Frese was the head coach at Minnesota for one season (2001-02) prior to coming to College Park. She led the Gophers to a record of 24-8 and the NCAA Tournament Second round and was named AP National Coach of the Year.
Diamond In Attendance
- Diamond Miller was in attendance for Wednesday's game. Miller played for the Terps from 2019-23 and is the Terps' 10th all-time leading scorer with 1,706 and 10th att-time leader in blocks with 111. Her 671 points scored during the 2022-23 season ranks No. 4 all-time for a single season.
- Miller has racked up many other accolades during her career at Maryland, including All-Big Ten First Team (2021, 2023) and WBCA Division I Coaches All-America Team (2023).
- Miller was drafted No. 2 overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft to the Minnesota Lynx and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team.
Numbers To Know
- 4: Maryland has a strength of schedule of No. 4 in the nation, per (RealTimeRPI, Massey Ratings).
- 14: The Terps are now 14-1 all-time against Minnesota.
- 19: The Terps outscored Minnesota 19-4 in bench points.
- 60: The Terps have won 60 straight games when they are leading with 5:00 to play.
Up Next
- Maryland returns to XFINITY Center for its matchup against Purdue on Jan. 6. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network and will tip-off at 4:30 p.m. Its the annual Blackout Game in College Park.
