By: Nolan DeMott
On Wednesday night, the Maryland Terrapins, looking to continue their undefeated start to the season, took on the 6-6 Duquesne Dukes. After a brutal stretch in which the Terrapins played four games in nine days, this was the Terps’ first game in nine days. Last time out, Maryland pulled out a 19-point victory on the road against Loyola, and this time around held a similar result with Maryland winning 77-57.
Despite the similar margins of victory, the Terrapins in this game, unlike their previous game, got off to a really slow start shooting the basketball. In the first quarter vs. Loyola, the Terps got off to a blistering start, shooting 11-14 from the field. However, due to a 5-13 start from the field through the first quarter of play vs. the Dukes, the Terps only managed a narrow 13-12 lead going into the second quarter.
Luckily for them, this is where the Terps began to take control of the game. Maryland shot 50% from the field in quarter number two and, even more importantly, played excellent defense to hold the Dukes to only four points in the entire quarter. In fact, at one point the Terps had prevented the Dukes from scoring a basket for over eight minutes. Due to the much better overall quarter, Maryland led comfortably at the half, 32-16. From there, the Terrapins had no trouble in finishing off yet another victory. The team led by as many as 26 points, and one of the main reasons for it was the superlative play—once again—of Brionna Jones.
Jones led the team in scoring for the fourth straight game. In fact, it was her third straight scoring at least 20 points. And in those games she has scored a combined total of 75 points. Not only is she scoring at an incredibly efficient rate, but she is also rebounding incredibly well. Wednesday marked her second straight game with ten or more rebounds. What has been even more impressive is that more than half of those have been on the offensive glass, meaning that she is consistently keeping possessions alive for her team.
They will certainly need her to continue that trend for their next match, when they take on the no. 1 ranked UConn Huskies. This has been a match that the Terps have been gearing up for, and it will most likely be the first time that their undefeated record is put in jeopardy.
