Box Score CHAMPAIGN, IL – Maryland women's basketball picked up its second consecutive road victory by defeating Illinois for the second time this season, 69-53, on Sunday at State Farm Center. The Terps remain undefeated against the Illini, having won all 16 games the two programs have played against each other.
The victory was Maryland's (14-10, 6-7 B1G) third Quad 1 victory this season as the Terps make a push to return to the NCAA Tournament after a run to the Elite Eight last season.
Three Terps posted double-doubles, marking the first time that happened since Dec. 19, 2020, against James Madison where Chloe Bibby, Faith Masonius and Mimi Collins accomplished the feat.
Shyanne Sellers finished with a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. It was her third double-double of the season and sixth of her career. Allie Kubek notched her first double-double as a Terp with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jakia Brown-Turner grabbed the final rebound of the game, giving her 11 points and 10 rebounds on her birthday. It was her back-to-back game finishing with double-digit points and rebounds.
Off the bench, Lavender Briggs scored 15 points on 2-3 shooting from three and she collaborated with Kubek to combine for 28 bench points.
Illinois (11-12, 5-8 B1G) was defeated despite entering the game winning three of its last four games. Camille Hobby paced all Illini players with 16 points and 11 rebounds. It was her first double-double of her career. The Terps defeated the Illini earlier in the season at XFINITY Center on Jan. 20.
Sunday's game was Illinois' Play4Kay game in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The Terps wore pink jerseys in support.
Breaking Down The Action
- Maryland led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter. Its defense forced Illinois to miss its last 10 shots from the floor. Six different players had already scored for the Terps as well.
- The Terps entered halftime with a 27-22 advantage. A bulk of their scoring came from the bench as Allie Kubek and Lavender Briggs combined for 13 points. Briggs led the way with seven points and Kubek added eight rebounds. The Terrapins defense also held the Illini to 9-35 from the field (26%).
- Kubek started the second half and scored four quick points to reach double-digit scoring. However, Illinois sparked a small 6-0 run to bring it within one point. At the third quarter media timeout, the Terps were ahead 31-30.
- The Terrapins went into the third quarter with a 44-37 lead. Kubek scored a game-high seven points in the period and helped the Terps regain their lead. Briggs also knocked down a big three-pointer - Maryland's only three up to that point - in the quarter.
- Shyanne Sellers converted an and-one for the Terps first double-digit advantage of the game in the fourth.
- Maryland cruises to a win with Sellers heating up down the stretch and scoring 11 in the fourth quarter.
Gallery: (2-11-2024) Maryland Women's Basketball vs. Illinois
Frese's Take
"A really important top-50 win for us on the road as we continue on in this February push," head coach
Brenda Frese said. "I thought it was a great win to be able to go on the road, clearly a lot of adversity, we battled through some foul trouble and turnovers. But I thought we were able to kind of change the game with our rebounding and our defense."
From The Girls
"I feel like we're peaking at the right time,"
Shyanne Sellers said regarding the Terps big fourth quarter. "We're coming together now and being more cohesive. I feel like this is just showing a hard-nosed Maryland team and this is the Maryland team that you're used to seeing."
Double-Double Displays
- Shyanne Sellers notched her third double-double of the season and the sixth of her career. She finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
- Allie Kubek recorded her first double-double as Terp and the 10 of her career. Previously, all nine of her double-doubles occurred during her two seasons at Towson. She finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- Jakia Brown-Turner scored 11 points and 10 rebounds for her second-straight double-double. It was also her fourth of the season and eighth of her career.
Double-Figure Factors
- Shyanne Sellers (18 points) has scored double-figures in 18 of 23 games she has played this season and 59 in her career.
- Lavender Briggs scored 15 points and had her ninth game this season in double-figures. She now has 70 games of double-figures in her career.
- Allie Kubek scored in double-figures for the 10th time this season with 13 points. She scored 10-plus points in 43 career games with 33 coming at Towson before transferring to Maryland.
- Jakia Brown-Turner hit the double-figures mark for the 16th time this season, her first with the Terps, scoring 11 points. Overall, she has 83 double-figure scoring games in her career with 67 coming at NC State. Brown-Turner has scored in double-figures in each of her last nine games.
Records & Milestones
- Maryland has four 1,000-point scorers on its roster. (Brown-Turner - 1,573; Briggs - 1,390, Alexander - 1,363; Sellers - 1,089).
- Entering the matchup, Shyanne Sellers' career free throw percentage of 81.4% ranked No. 3 in Maryland history behind just Kristi Toliver (.866) and Laurin Mincy (.817)
- Entering the matchup, Bri McDaniel's career three-point percentage is 46.3%, which is currently No. 2 in the Maryland record books behind just Katie Benzan (47.4%). Brinae Alexander's Maryland career three-point percentage is 42.0%, which is No. 4 in Maryland history Lavender Briggs' three-point percentage in her Maryland career is 37.8%, which is No. 12.
Happy Birthday Jakia!
- Jakia Brown-Turner played on her birthday on Sunday. She had her eighth game in a row in double-figures with 11 points. Brown-Turner has been phenomenal as of late as she also scored 20-plus in five straight games during the nine-game stretch. She even set or matched her career-high six times.
- Brown-Turner notched three double-doubles over the nine games while grabbing 10 boards today. She also set a career-high in assists during the stretch, as she had seven against Michigan on Jan. 24.
- Brown-Turner recorded 1,500 career points against Penn State on Jan. 28. With 11 points today, she now has 1,573 in her five-year career.
Dominating The Series
- Sunday's matchup was the 16th all-time between Maryland and Illinois. The Terps and Brenda Frese are 16-0 against the Illini. That includes a record of 5-0 on the road.
- The Terrapins won their first matchup this year - 90- 82 in College Park on Jan. 20. Bri McDaniel, Jakia Brown-Turner, Allie Kubek and Shyanne Sellers all scored in double-figures during the game. McDaniel and Brown-Turner each scored 20-plus in the matchup.
Terps In The Big Ten
- The Terps are 205-61 all-time against their Big Ten opponents.
- Since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15, the Terrapins are 163-31 vs. their conference opponents, including their 20-4 record in the Big Ten Tournament.
- In the 22 years under Frese, the Terps are 174-35 against their Big Ten opponents.
- Frese is 188-40 all-time vs. Big Ten opponents, which includes her time at Minnesota and Ball State.
Numbers To Know
- 1: Allie Kubek recorded her first double-double as a Terp.
- 2: Jakia Brown-Turner notched a double-double in two straight games.
- 3: Maryland has a strength of schedule of No. 3 in the country according to Massey Ratings.
- 3: The win was Maryland's third Quad one win of the season.
- 3: Three players finished with a double-double for the first time since 2020.
- 9: Entering the matchup, the Terps were No. 9 in the country and led the Big Ten in free throws made per game.
- 9: Brown-Turner scored in double-figures in each of her last nine games.
- 10: Kubek recorded a season-high 10 rebounds.
- 12: Maryland has played 13 Quad 1 games, which is second only to UConn, who has played 14.
- 18: Shyanne Sellers scored in double-figures for the 18th time in 23 games.
- 36: Maryland is currently ranked No. 36 in the latest NCAA NET rankings.
- 125: Since their first year in the Big Ten, the Terps are 125-4 when holding their league opponents to 70 points or less. The Terps held the Illini under 60 points on Sunday.
Up Next
- Maryland returns to College Park for a two-game homestand. It starts with a Penn State matchup on Feb. 18 at XFINITY Center. The game will tip-off at 1 p.m. and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
