No.20 Maryland was leading  No. 6 UConn by four and needed a closer to put the game away. Right on cue, Diamond Miller hit a clutch three to give Maryland the commanding lead. 

The Terps saw the game out from there and claimed a shocking 85-78 victory over the Huskies, their first-ever win against them.  

“I’ve done a lot of firsts here. But first time being able to have a team beat UConn, I definitely will remember win 601 because of this group,” Coach Brenda Frese said. 

Xfinity Center shook physically with excitement as the fans packed the arena. The atmosphere arguably was the best at a Maryland game this year. 

“It was really nice for this game, and you know every game it’s really nice to have a big crowd. I think their energy just brings a lot of good things to us. It seems like when we have a big crowd we always seem to show up for them,” Shyanne Sellers said. 

Miller didn’t have her most efficient day shooting the ball. She was 4 of 13 from the field but still scored 17 points and had some clutch baskets down the stretch. She contributed in other ways as well, recording six rebounds, three blocks, and three steals. 

The biggest story of the game was the turnover battle. The bothersome Maryland defense was in the Huskies’ faces all day, forcing 22 turnovers. Conversely, Maryland only turned the ball over a season-low five times.

“Just can’t say enough about our resiliency executing defensively. We knew we needed to do that since we were gonna be outmanned on the glass,” Frese said. 

Another huge key for the Terps was their three-point shooting. They made 12 threes and shot 40% from deep. 

Abby Meyers was sensational, shooting the lights out of the arena. She played the entire game for the first time in her career and led Maryland in scoring with 20 points, including four buckets from behind the arc. 

“That’s who Abby is. I love the approach she’s had, and she impacts the game in so many different ways,” Frese said. 

“That just comes with preparing for the games. I always make sure my body’s feeling great. Whatever needed from me, whether it’s all 40 or no 40, I’m just gonna play and try and do my thing,” Meyers said. 

Another major catalyst for the Terps’ success was Sellers. She scored the game-winning basket in their last game against Purdue, and she carried that momentum into this contest. She scored 19 points and recorded six assists, four rebounds, and two steals. 

UConn came into this game hampered by injuries. They only had seven players available and had just played a surprisingly close game with Princeton earlier in the week. 

“They (Maryland) deserve all the credit for making the plays they had to make, but I couldn’t be prouder of my team and how we represented ourselves out there. It was a gutsy, amazing performance by them. But, it’s Connecticut, and there’s no atta girl for doing well and not coming back with a win. Except for on the scoreboard, there were a lot of wins out there today for us,” Coach Geno Auriemma said. 

“No other team is facing the challenges that we’re facing right now,” Aaliyah Edwards said. 

Edwards kept the Huskies in the game with her paint play. She scored a game-high 25 points and added eight rebounds and seven assists. 

UConn was able to spread the ball around offensively and had five players in double-digit scoring.

The Huskies controlled the boards and outrebounded Maryland 46 to 24, including 15 rebounds by Aubrey Griffin. 

UConn came out and immediately started to knock down shots. They shot an efficient 53.3% from the field in the first quarter. 

Maryland, by comparison, struggled to make their looks shooting 30% in the quarter. 

The only thing keeping the Terps in the game early was their pesky defense that forced seven turnovers in the first quarter. 

Edwards was a dominating presence down low for the Huskies on both ends.  

However, as the other offensive stars for UConn started to go cold in the second quarter, they were forced to rely more and more on Edwards. This allowed the Maryland defense to key in on her and slow her down. 

The Terps started to heat up in the second quarter just as the Huskies’ offense began to stall. 

Maryland took the lead in the second quarter by way of an 8-0 run. Meyers and Sellers knocked down back-to-back threes as the arena erupted in support of their Terps. 

Meyers scored 18 points in the first half and made four threes. 

UConn used its size advantage to control the boards. They outrebounded Maryland 24 to 11 in the first half. 

Three-pointing shooting was huge for the Terps and allowed them to overcome the large rebounding disadvantage. They made 7 threes in the first half, including six in the second quarter. 

That huge second quarter propelled Maryland into their largest lead of the game so far, 43-36, going into halftime. 

Maryland maintained its lead for much of the third quarter until a late 10-0 run by the Huskies put them right back in the game. 

Edwards tied the game up early in the fourth, but the Terps responded. 

Meyers was held scoreless in the third, but she hit a trick shot layup while being fouled directly after the Edwards bucket.

Sellers then hit a three that transferred all the momentum back to Maryland. 

Maryland went on a 8-0 run, but UConn quickly responded with a 7-2 run of their own. 

The game remained tight until Miller hit that big three to finally put the game out of reach. 

Maryland claimed the victory and now improves to 9-3 on the year. 

The Terps now have a short break before they face off against Purdue Fort Wayne in their next game on December 21st.