EAST LANSING, MI — No. 22 Maryland grabbed a huge 86-70 road win over No. 12 Michigan State on Wednesday night. The Terps (18-6, 6-6 Big Ten) snapped a four-game losing skid with their second top 16 win of the season, and first on the road since defeating No. 23 Iowa on Jan. 5, 2025.
Oluchi Okananwa had another masterful performance with 23 points, five assists, and four rebounds. She was one of five Terps to score in double figures in one of their biggest wins of the season. Wednesday marked the sixth time this season that Maryland had five Terps pitch in double-digit performances.
Yarden Garzon buried a pair of three-pointers in her 16-point performance against the Spartans, pushing her Big Ten-leading three-point season total to 66 as Maryland downed MSU for the 20th time in program history.
The two ranked squads traded runs in the first half, with Maryland emerging with a 43-33 halftime lead. After MSU took its first lead, Maryland used a 21-5 run that included eight points from both Kyndal Walker and Mir McLean to build the 10-point advantage at the break.
Maryland used a big 24-point third quarter to gain separation from the Spartans and held on for its 18th win of the season.
Saylor Poffenbarger scored 13 points with a trio of three-pointers while Walker and McLean finished with 14 and 10, respectively.
Michigan State fell to 19-4 (8-4 Big Ten) despite Grace VanSlooten's 19 points. The Terps have a chance to complete the road-trip sweep against Nebraska on Feb. 7.
How It Happened:
1st Quarter:
- Okananwa got the night's scoring started with a layup.
- Poffenbarger got on the board with an early three.
- Garzon's first three of the night put the Terps up 11-6 midway through the quarter.
- Poffenbarger hit her second three of the frame as the Terps went ahead 16-10.
- The two teams took a 20-20 tie into the second quarter.
2nd Quarter:
- A Garzon layup marked the quarter's first points and put Maryland back ahead.
- MSU took its first lead with a 8-0 run.
- Okananwa drew a foul on a layup to create a big three-point play, stemming the Spartans' run.
- Walker cut the deficit to one with her first basket of the night.
- A McLean layup put the Terps back on top.
- Back-to-back layups from Walker built a 35-30 lead.
- Maryland took a 43-33 lead into the half.
3rd Quarter:
- Garzon and Okananwa hit back-to-back threes as Maryland went up 52-39.
- Rainey Welson got on the board with a layup midway through the frame.
- The Terps used an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 54-39.
- Poffenbarger put back a second-chance layup to become the third Terp to reach double figures.
- Walker reached double figures with a pair of free throws.
- A Welson three put the Terps up 63-47.
- Maryland led 67-53 after three quarters of action.
4th Quarter:
- Poffenbarger extended the lead to 72-55 with an early three.
- McLean reached double figures with a layup.
- Okananwa netted back-to-back buckets to extend the lead to 79-62.
- Maryland closed out the 86-70 win.
Double-Digit Days:
- Okananwa (23 points) scored 20+ points for the 10th time this season and the 14th time in her career. She tallied her 20th double-digit game of the season and the 56th of her career.
- Garzon (16 points) scored in double figures for the 17th time this season and 81st time in her collegiate career.
- Walker (14 points) finished one point shy of her career high as she tallied double-digit scoring for the fourth time in her career.
- Poffenbarger (13 points) recorded her 10th double-figure game of the season and 49th of her career.
- McLean (10 points) scored in double figures for the second time this season and 26th time in her career.
Outstanding Oluchi:
- Okananwa had another strong Big Ten performance with 23 points, five assists, and five rebounds.
- She's averaging 19.8 points per game in conference play this season.
- Okananwa ranks in the top 10 in the Big Ten in points, rebounds, and steals in 2025-26.
Squashing The Spartans:
- Wednesday's contest was the 23rd all-time meeting between Maryland and Michigan State, with the Terps winning 19 of the previous games.
- Maryland improved to 7-2 on the road against the Spartans.
- The Terps downed MSU 72-66 in last year's meeting.
- Maryland's biggest win of the series was a 94-53 victory in 2021.
Brenda Frese's Breakdown:
- "Really proud of this team. Really big win for us to be able to go on the road against a really good Michigan State team. I loved everything about how we played on both ends of the floor."
- "I loved our balanced scoring. We had big minutes and production from Mir and Kyndal. I think they both came up huge, especially when we had some foul trouble. They gave us a huge boost in the second quarter."
- "This group continues to show its resiliency, showing up for each other. They love each other."
- "That's the kind of bench support we need."
- "No team in the country is as battle-tested as us. I love how we continue to play."
Okananwa's Outtakes:
- "Coach B holds me to a high standard that I should be held to."
- "Having such a balanced team and a bench with depth is amazing. Being able to have so much confidence in the next man up takes the pressure off and lets me get even more hype."
Numbers To Know:
- 2: Maryland earned its second ranked win of the season.
- 6: Wednesday marked the sixth time this season that five Terps have scored 10+ points in the same game.
- 6: Welson scored six points in her return to action.
- 19: The Terps led by as much as 19 in the win.
- 20: Maryland earned its 20th all-time win over MSU and seventh on the road.
- 66: Garzon's 66 three-pointers this season lead the Big Ten.
- 73: Okananwa's 73 offensive rebounds are tied for second-most in the Big Ten.
- 164: Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu's 164 rebounds this season are the eighth-most in the conference.
- 397: Maryland has made 397 free throws this season, which are the most in the Big Ten.
- 1,021: The Terps lead the conference with 1,021 rebounds this season.
- 2,000: Maryland's 2,000 points this season are the most in the Big Ten.
Up Next:
- Maryland stays on the road to take on Nebraska on Feb. 7. Tipoff is slated for 2 PM and the game will air on BTN.
