In a game in which No. 13 Maryland women’s basketball (19-6, B1G 11-3) once led by 20 points, the Terps withstood No. 22 Iowa’s (16-7, B1G 10-4) comeback attempt to earn their seventh straight win as they beat the Hawkeyes, 81-69.
“Both teams were making runs through the game and we were able to withstand that and pull out a really nice win on the road,” head coach Brenda Frese said.
Iowa jumped out to a 9-2 lead early in the first quarter, but the Terps fought their way back to take their first lead at 14-13 after forward Angel Reese scored a layup.
Hawkeyes center Monika Czinano led the way for the Hawkeyes in the first quarter with eight points and went to the bench in foul trouble in the second quarter after picking up two in the first half.
The Terps held guard Caitlin Clark scoreless until Reese fouled her with five seconds remaining in the first quarter and she converted both of her free throws.
The first quarter was back and forth with the Terps only leading 24-19 after the first ten minutes, but the Terps never trailed again.
Reese scored 14 points in the first half including eight straight at the end of the first and the beginning of the second quarter.
Clark missed her first seven shots from the field before she converted a jumper in the paint halfway through the second quarter. Clark had a rough night overall as the Terps held her to 19 points, her second lowest total of the season, and forced 10 turnovers on her alone.
“I thought we did a really good job always having two around her,” Frese said. “Forcing her into those 10 turnovers was big.”
The Terps went on a 12-2 run in the middle of the second quarter that was capped off by guard Taiysia Kozlova knocking down a three. In total, the Terps shot 45% from beyond the arc.
The Terps entered halftime shooting 51.4% from the field up 48-33 before Iowa started to chip away at Maryland’s lead.
Each team had starters in foul trouble in the third quarter. Reese and guard Katie Benzan each had three fouls midway through the third quarter while Czinano and guard Kate Martin of Iowa also had three fouls.
Czinano and Benzan fouled out in the final minutes of the game.
Reese did not let the fouls interrupt her game as she finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and forced a turnover on Clark with a little over a minute left in the game to seal the win.
“I’m feeling so confident,” Reese said. “My teammates are getting me the ball and I know if they miss a shot I’m cleaning it up and they expect me to clean it up.”
Near the end of the third quarter, Iowa went on a 10-0 run in a two minute stretch to energize the loud crowd that was noisy all night.
Guards Shyanne Sellers and Diamond Miller converted two huge buckets to stop the run, but then Clark hit a deep three at the buzzer to make it an 11 point game with 10 minutes to go.
Miller also had a great game, scoring 20 points including three three-pointers as she helped carry the offense in absence of guard Ashley Owusu, who missed her third straight game with a sprained ankle.
Turnovers plagued Maryland in the second half as they turned the ball over 13 times, firing up the Iowa crowd, but the Terps made huge shots when it mattered most.
“I think we need to clean up our turnovers because that was pretty bad tonight,” forward Chloe Bibby said.
Iowa shrunk the Terps lead all the way down to five points midway through the fourth quarter, but guard Katie Benzan cashed in her first and only three-pointer after Miller found Benzan wide open.
Forward Chloe Bibby then added five points of her own to pad the Terps lead as she finished with 16 points.
The road does not get any easier for the Terps, who return home to face No. 18 Ohio State on Thursday.
