COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The 10th-ranked Maryland women’s basketball team opened with a huge run and never looked back as it cruised past Goldey-Beacom, 103-43, in the Terps’ first exhibition game of the season.
All 12 Terps scored in the preseason victory. Sophomore Shatori Walker-Kimbrough led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds, while fellow sophomore Lexie Brown added 14 points and four steals. Redshirt freshman A’Lexus Harrison and sophomore Brionna Jones each added 12 points. Freshman Kristen Confroy scored 10 points, all in the second half, and added seven rebounds.
“It was a really nice game for us,” head coach
Brenda Frese. “To be able to come out and get some jitters out of the way, obviously play a lot of combinations, especially for our freshmen to be able to get that experience. I saw a lot of really good things and some things that we can work on to be able to improve. Defensively, I thought we picked it up the second half and were able to run in our transition and I like how we shared the basketball.”
The Terrapins opened the game on a 19-0 run over the first eight minutes of the game. Six Terps scored in the run and Harrison scored eight straight herself. The Terrapins would lead 56-25 at the break.
Maryland picked up where it left off in the second half and started the period on an 11-2 run. Walker-Kimbrough added six points in the stretch. The Terrapins went on another 30-2 run later in the half to push the lead to 97-36 with 6:30 to play.
The Terrapins owned the inside game, outrebounding the Lightning 65-27 and outscoring Goldey-Beacom in the paint, 52-4. The Terps forced 27 turnovers and scored 40 points off of them.
Junior Malina Howard took on her younger sister, Marisa, who is a freshman for Goldey-Beacom.
Maryland was picked to win the Big Ten this year – the Terps’ first season in the league. The Terrapins are ranked 10th in the Associated Press preseason poll and start the year in the top 10 for the third straight season.
Maryland is coming off its second NCAA Final Four appearance under Frese and fifth overall, defeating top-seeded Tennessee and winning at No. 3 Louisville along the way. The Terrapins went 28-7 on the year last season and return three of the team’s top five scorers in Brown, Jones and Walker-Kimbrough.
Next, the Terps will welcome the University of the District of Columbia on Saturday, Nov. 8 for a 5 p.m. exhibition at the XFINITY Center. General admission tickets are available for $1 for Saturday’s contest.
For ticket information for the 2014-15 season, log on to the Terrapin Ticket Office online at umterps.com or call 1-800-IM-A-TERP.
Maryland will officially open the 2014-15 season with an 11 a.m. game vs. Mount St. Mary’s on Friday, Nov. 14 at XFINITY Center. Season tickets for the Final Four Terrapins are now on sale at $75 each.
For the Terrapins’ 2014 schedule, log on to umterps.com.
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