27 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Gia Cooke made a free throw on the fast break, letting Maryland walk out with its 16th win of the season.
After losing 90-67 to the Cornhuskers on Dec. 4, the Terps were avenged in an intense battle against Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena Sunday at 2 p.m.
No. 11 Maryland won 69-54 during Nebraska’s Alumni Weekend, which about 30 former Husker women’s basketball players attended.
Both teams started out in a man-to-man defensive press, forcing a fast pace game from the beginning. This showed by the end of the second half, with Maryland having only made 20 of 66 field goals and Nebraska with 19 for 62 field goals.
“From a mentality, it’s hard to go on the road and win,” Coach Brenda Frese said. “To have that kind of win record and you can see we thrive in it. That’s a great sign as we as we move ahead, within the schedule.”
Maryland built an early lead, scoring 22 points off Nebraska’s 22 turnovers, and held the Cornhuskers to 31% shooting.
“Just the ability get to the free throw line was big and being able to have those 37 free throw attempts and then just locking down on the defensive end,” Frese said. “That’s what it’s gonna look like, the game in and game out.”
In the second half, the Terps maintained their aggressive behavior and got to the charity stripe giving the team 14 points.
“But today was encouraging with the first-half defense getting to the free throw line and being able to win on the road,” Frese said. “So, hopefully, we can build these habits.”
Diamond Miller led the way with 18 points and got to double figures for her 12th straight game. Faith Masonius and Abby Meyers tied with seven points a piece. Freshman Bri McDaniel came off the steal ending the second quarter with a field goal, giving the Terps its biggest second-half lead of the season.
“So coming out today, we just wanted to punch hard and I think we did that,” Miller said. “We’re at our best when we play fast and play together, so it’s kind of just where we’re at right now. Just staying on the same page even when things aren’t going our way.”
Huskers bounced back and continued to play rigorously despite the 20-point deficit. Jaz Shelley had a high of ten points and four assists, while Sam Haiby had 12 rebounds. The Huskers made 20 points in the paint just in the second half.
The game was pretty foul-heavy, Maryland racked in 22 personal fouls while the Cornhuskers had 27.
Despite the foul-filled halves, Maryland held onto a 12-0 run. Shyanne Sellers picked up her first double-double of the season. Sellers, with a triple-high, led the Terps with 20 points, 11 rebounds and three assists against the Huskers.
“Coach is very persistent on attacking the paint, so I just keep trying to stay with that and stay within my game, let the game come to me,” Sellers said. “Then once the team starts to double, I start to kick out, and I think it just reopens the floor back up for me.”
Maryland stepped up its performance and played with prior wins against UConn and Wisconsin.
“The competitiveness of our locker room and just terrific response from the last time that we played in Nebraska, I loved the mentality we came out with, especially both ends of the floor but defensively to hold them to a half like we did,” Frese said. “I thought was really important that we’re going to have nights like that, especially tonight when we didn’t shoot the ball as well as we typically do.”
The Terps return to the XFINITY Center to host No. 14 Michigan on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
