COLLEGE PARK, MD — With Sunday’s game fully in its grasp, No. 1 UCLA had just one significant uncertainty left as the fourth quarter wound down. Star center Lauren Betts dominated the interior of Maryland’s defense practically all evening, matching her career-high of 31 midway through the third quarter. But she didn’t surpass the mark swiftly.
The Terps held Betts scoreless for the next 10 minutes. Teetering on the cusp of a personal best, Betts drew a shooting foul while attempting a turnaround layup with just under five minutes left to play. Betts sank both ensuing free throws, setting a new career-high with 33.
No. 8 Maryland took several measures to stop Betts from scoring, but none proved successful. The Bruins center was the driving force in a comprehensive UCLA performance, which was too much for the Terps to handle. They dropped their third consecutive game, losing 82-67 on Sunday.
“[In] the second half we just had to sell out and park someone in there to try to give a second defender,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said regarding Maryland’s defensive efforts against Betts. “She was getting way too many layups and [the game] got away from us.”
Maryland’s defensive game plan was evident before the game even tipped off. Facing the most dominant player in the country in Betts, Frese handed senior Amari DeBerry her first career start.
At 6-foot-6, DeBerry was the only member of Maryland’s roster who could even come close to matching Betts’ size. The early matchup ultimately went Betts’ way.
The Bruins center went 3-for-4 from the field during the opening five minutes, scoring six of UCLA’s first 10 points.
In the absence of Shyanne Sellers and Bri McDaniel, Maryland relied on its semi-depleted depth to keep pace with UCLA throughout the early going. Six Terps scored during the first quarter, out of the seven who saw the floor.
Maryland totaled 15 first quarter-points behind the dispersed output. The Bruins’ offense operated in the opposite manner.
Betts nearly matched Maryland’s tally by herself, scoring 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting — the majority of her makes being contested layups. Fellow 2024 All-American Honorable Mention Kiki Rice scored the Bruins’ other six, as UCLA led 20-15 after the opening quarter.
The Bruins continued feeding Betts during the ensuing frame, and she continued bullying the Terps’ defense. Additional buckets from Londynn Jones and Gabriela Jaquez stretched UCLA’s lead to as many as 12 midway through the second quarter. But the Terps answered.
Mir McLean started a crucial run with a tough finish at the basket. Sarah Te-Biasu then drained a three from the wing on Maryland’s following possession before Saylor Poffenbarger added an additional triple — just steps away from the spot where Te-Biasu made hers.
Kaylene Smikle tacked on a pair of free throws before McLean stepped through two defenders to make a right-handed layup that pulled the Terps within two. That was the closest they’d get.
A poor pass in the paint saw Maryland turn the ball over on its next possession. Jaquez grabbed hold of the loose ball before pushing it up court to Betts, who rolled in the uncontested layup — one of her easiest makes of the afternoon — to put her point tally at 24.
Betts finished the second quarter on that same total. She was over three-quarters of the way to her previous career-high by halftime.
The Terps trailed 39-34 at the break, but that manageable deficit quickly ballooned as UCLA opened the second half on a 10-2 run.
Poffenbarger scored Maryland’s only points during that stretch, as she opened the best individual offensive quarter that any Terp had on Sunday afternoon. The versatile guard scored inside and beyond the arc as she racked up nine points in the third frame.
“I think my midrange is coming along — [it’s] something I have to utilize,” Poffenbarger said. “Being able to put the ball on the floor and trust myself has been important.”
Poffenarger’s efforts kept the deficit within theoretical reach for much of the third quarter. As Betts went quiet though, UCLA’s ulterior scoring options found their groves from deep. Four different Bruins hit threes during the 10-minute stretch during which Maryland held Betts scoreless.
The Bruins began sending some of the Maryland faithful to the exits early.
A wild sequence started as Rice turned the ball. The junior then raced to the other end of the floor, grabbed a steal, and pushed the pace in the opposite direction.
Rice nearly went coast-to-coast but instead side-stepped to her left, where she kicked a pass to Londynn Jones. The junior nailed a corner three to put UCLA ahead by 17, virtually sealing the game with six minutes remaining.
With bench players in for both sides, the Terps ended the game on a 10-0 run to make the scoreline look more respectable.
“It’s not only just the game of basketball, it’s the game of life and adversity hit,” Frese said. “I’ve said this all week, we can either run away from it, or we can run to it. … They’ve shown in the last two games, against rosters with more depth, that they were going to fight.”
Sunday’s defeat caps off Maryland’s most frustrating week of the season to this point.
The Terps were blown out by No. 7 Texas on Monday and collapsed in the second of Thursday’s contest against No. 12 Ohio State.
Maryland’s schedule now opens up though. It faces Penn State in State College on Wednesday evening, and the Terps aren’t set to face another ranked opponent until early March.
