After five days off, the No. 14 Terps came back fresh with vengeance on both offense and defense as they beat James Madison 101-59.

The Terps have scored over 100 points in half of their games this season as they improve 11-1 all-time against the Dukes and 5-1 overall on the season. 

Maryland had six players finish in double figures: guard Diamond Miller, forward Mimi Collins, guard Katie Benzan, forward Chloe Bibby, guard Ashley Owusu and forward Faith Masonius. 

Not to mention, the Terps were incredibly aggressive as three players finished with double- doubles, including Masonius, Bibby and Collins.

“You can make everyone’s job a lot easier when you play the game with an unselfish attitude,” head coach Brenda Frese said.

The Terps finished the day shooting 51% from the field and scoring over 55% of their points from inside the paint. 

The Dukes came out with an intense surge early, but the Terps punched right back with their stout defense. 

Maryland went on an 18-2 run over the course of 5:21, while holding off James Madison’s offense to zero made field goals over 6:16 seconds in the second quarter. 

The Dukes struggled to gain any momentum on the offensive side of the ball as the Terps forced James Madison into 17 turnovers, while out rebounding the Dukes 54 to 36.

Headed into conference play for the remainder of the 2020-21 campaign it’s important that the Terps sustain their well coached and disciplined defense. 

“One of the most important things is valuing practice and having that discipline to make sure we stay in shape, have a good mindset and stay hungry for the games to come,” Masonius said. 

“Coach B just talks about every single day how we have to be grateful. So we’re all just grateful that we have the privilege to play basketball during this pandemic,” Collins added.

With a critical team win headed into the holidays, the Terps are still aware that they have yet to even reach the heart of their schedule. 

“We have to understand that we’re going into conference play and the level goes a lot higher,” Frese said. “So for us we just need to sustain our work ethic and play during practice, in the weight room and watching film to help us understand what lies ahead.”

With Maryland’s second Big Ten matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes postponed Friday, they are scheduled to play again on New Year’s Eve, Thursday Dec. 31, against the Penn State Nittany Lions (3-1) at 1:00 p.m. in University Park, Pennsylvania.