COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Junior Tierney Pfirman registered her second career double-double with 16 points and 11 assists as the No. 8 Maryland women's basketball team (1-0, 0-0 B1G) defeated Mount St. Mary’s 109-45 in its season opener. Seven Terrapins registered double-digit points, contributing to the all-around effort.
“I thought we had tremendous energy coming out on the tip,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “You could tell we were excited and ready to play. I though we set the tone early, and we were aggressive early on... It was a really good game for us to begin with and build on.”
The Terrapins dominated in the first half, racking up a 57-24 lead while limiting The Mount to just 31 percent shooting. Maryland started the game on a 9-0 run, led by five points from sophomore Lexie Brown. A layup from freshman Kristen Confroy forced the Mount to take a timeout.
Redshirt junior Brene Moseley made a key steal and tossed in a free throw, then nailed a free throw to make a three-point play as Maryland went up, 35-14.
Pfirman led the Terrapins' offense in the first with 14 points. She notched eight straight as Maryland increased its lead to 53-21. Senior Laurin Mincy went 5-of-5 from the free throw line and grabbed seven rebounds.
“My main goal was to go out and have fun,” Pfirman said. “When I have fun everything else reveals itself, team work, everything. Going out there and getting my first offensive rebound, that was a pretty big motivator, so I just figured since I got the first one, then why not get 10 more.”
The Terps dished the ball 16 times on 21 field goals in the first half, led by Confroy’s six assists.
The team picked up where it left off at the start of the second half, jumping out with a 20-5 run to extend the lead to 77-29.
Chloe Pavlech drained back-to-back three-point shots with a little under six minutes to play to cement the Terps victory, giving them a 94-43 lead at the time.
A Moseley layup with 2:13 left in the game put the Terps over the century mark for the game. This marks the first time the Terrapins have broken 100 points in a regular season opener since defeating Siena 107-66 on November 18, 2005.
The Terps closed the game on a 13-0 run over the final 2:46. Freshman Kiara Leslie led the Terps in the second half with 14 points and five rebounds. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Chloe Pavlech both added eight points in the half as well.
Maryland’s defense held strong throughout the game, holding the Mount to 29 percent field-goal shooting and forcing 17 turnovers.
“It was good to get a lot of the players involved,” Head coach Brenda Frese said. “It is really how we have been in practice and when you see our different looks and match-ups. I think we are playing really well for so early on in the season.”
The Terps welcomed more than 2,000 students from 16 area elementary schools to XFINITY Center for the home opener.
Prior to Field Trip Day, all of the participating students received an activity book with Maryland-themed and basketball-themed activities.
Next, the Terps will welcome Wagner to XFINITY Center for a 2 p.m. tip-off Sunday. Prior to Sunday’s game, the Terrapins will have a pregame presentation highlighting the team’s 2014 NCAA Final Four run.
For tickets to any of the Final Four Terps’ games or for a season ticket package, log on to the Terrapin Ticket Office online at umterps.com or call 1-800-IM-A-TERP.
The Terps-Seahawks game will be streamed live on the BTN2Go app, which is the official app of the Big Ten Network. It will be a BTN Plus production and will require an additional subscription. Fans can access all Big Ten content on BTN Plus for $119.95 per year or a $14.95 monthly subscription. A Maryland School Pass for BTN Plus, which includes all Terrapin contests, home and away, on BTN Plus for $79.95 per year or for a $9.95 monthly subscription.
LiveStats will be available. Live updates will also be posted to the Maryland Women's Basketball Twitter feed, so "Follow" to get updates sent straight to you.
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