COLLEGE PARK, MD – Despite Saylor Poffenbarger's 18 points against the undefeated No. 1 ranked team in the country, No. 8 Maryland women's basketball was defeated by UCLA, 82-67, at XFINITY Center on Sunday before 13,648 fans. The Terps are now 16-4 overall and 6-3 in Big Ten play.
The Terps trailed by just two possessions at halftime, 39-34, and were within single digits late in the third quarter. However, the Bruins pulled away in the second half. The Terps were without two of their top three scorers, Shyanne Sellers and Bri McDaniel.
Poffenbarger shot 8-of-16 from the floor and grabbed four rebounds.
Kaylene Smikle added 11 points while collecting two steals. She extended her streak of double-digit scoring outings to 19 games. She has scored 10 more points in every game besides Maryland's season opener. The streak is the longest of her career.
Sarah Te-Biasu tallied 11 points and five assists.
Christina Dalce scored eight points and collected 11 rebounds.
UCLA (19-0, 7-0) was led by Lauren Betts' 33 points and eight rebounds. She recorded 24 points in the first half alone. She finished shooting 14-of-15 from the floor.
UCLA was Maryland's eighth ranked opponent this season. The matchup concludes Maryland's stretch of playing four consecutive ranked opponents: No. 24 Minnesota, No. 7 Texas and No. 12 Ohio State.
Frese's Take
"I just want to thank our fans for coming out," Frese said. "I thought the crowd was amazing. I think you were able to see UCLA is number one in the country for a reason. Probably the biggest size and depth that we have faced all season. I thought we were right there at halftime "
From The Girls
"I think every time that we go out and play, we have an opportunity to learn," Poffenbarger said. "I think it's really important to learn in January and not march. I think going out, we learn a lot about ourselves. It teaches us to stay together. It teaches us to play together, play through hard times. Getting an opportunity to play the number one team in the country, gets to show a lot about ourselves. And I think we competed for 40 minutes. I think that that just shows a lot about our resilience as a team."
Breaking Down The Action
- At the end of the first quarter, Maryland trailed 20-15. Six different Terps scored a bucket. UCLA was led by Lauren Betts' 14 points.
- The Terps trailed 35-29 at the second-quarter media timeout. They made five consecutive shots from the floor, including a 3-pointer by Saylor Poffenbarger.
- Maryland trailed by just five at 39-34. Poffenbarger and Sarah Te-Biasu carried the load offensively with nine and eight points, respectively. For the Bruins, Betts led with 24 points.
- UCLA pulled ahead, 53-41, at the 4:57 third-quarter media timeout.
- The score was 65-48 entering the final frame. Poffenbarger led all Terps with 18 points.
Double-Figure Factors
- Saylor Poffenbarger tallied 18 points for her 35th career game in double figures. It was her eighth game scoring double-figures as a Terp.
- Kaylene Smikle scored 11 points, her 57th career double-figure game. This was her 19th consecutive game netting double-digit points as a Terp.
- Sarah Te-Biasu scored 11 points. It was her 85th game scoring in double digits. It was her fifth game scoring in double-figures as a Terp.
In The House
- Governor Wes Moore and Representative Steny Hoyer attended today's game.
- They gave a pregame speech to the team and sat courtside with the Maryland bad.
Numbers And Nuggets To Know
- 1: Amari DeBerry recorded her first start in her 77th career game.
- 3: This was the third time this season that Maryland had a crowd of more than 10,000.
- 8: Maryland is ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press poll.
- 19: Kaylene Smikle has scored in double figures in 19 straight games.
- 41: Christina Dalce recorded 10 or more rebounds for the 41st time in her career.
- 13,648: There were 13,648 fans in attendance.
Up Next
- Maryland will play at Penn State on Jan. 29. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. from Rec Hall and air on Big Ten Plus.
