It has been over two years since the Terps have lost in the Xfinity Center. Their win against Purdue marked the 30th-straight home win and 15th-straight conference victory for Maryland women’s basketball.
“I love that. The sustaining really high level of consistency,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “That’s the standard that we set. That’s the bar. That’s why we get every team’s best shot.”
Although the end score was one-sided, the future of Maryland’s streak was in jeopardy for most of the game.
Maryland got off to a hot 9-2 start, but momentum was in the visitor’s favor when Purdue responded with a 12-3 run. Maryland had no answer for Purdue’s shooting, as the Boilermakers splashed four three-pointers off five shots in the first quarter alone. At the end of the first, Purdue held a one-point lead.
The second half was more of the same as Maryland did not have an answer for the hot hand of Purdue guard Brooke Moore. Moore shot five three-pointers off seven attempts in the first half as Purdue led 40-36 at halftime.
The game was more of a lopsided affair than one would expect for a contest that ended with a four-point difference. At the end of the first half, Purdue had a shooting percentage of 64% compared to Maryland’s 35%. Purdue’s turnovers and Maryland’s offensive rebounding kept the Terps alive. Both statistics were at 15.
The Terps second half adjustments proved successful, scoring the first seven points of the half and regaining the lead. Once they took it, they never gave it back.
By the end of the third quarter, the Terps led by six. By the fourth quarter, the game was blown wide open, and Maryland won comfortably, 86-71.
Once Purdue stopped hitting their threes, they had nothing else to rely on. After shooting 8-13 in the first half, the side cooled down in the second, going 4-19.
“The first half was maybe a little anomaly for us,” said Purdue coach Katie Gearlds. “But we got a group of fighters. We’re going [to] keep fighting, we’re going to keep shooting it.”
Maryland’s rebounding played a big role towards their success, outsumming Purdue 42-31. Oddly enough, the Terps ended the game with more offensive rebounds (23) than defensive rebounds (19).
Maryland will face the top team in the country on December 12 when its faces the South Carolina Gamecocks away from home.
