No. 22 Maryland women’s basketball headed to East Lansing on a four-game losing streak, tied for the longest skid in the program’s history under head coach Brenda Frese.

The Terps pulled ahead in the second quarter and never looked back. Maryland snapped its losing streak and picked up its first ranked victory since before Thanksgiving, beating No. 12 Michigan State, 86-70.

Maryland entered a hostile Breslin Events Center against Spartan fans who were loud and unforgiving. Even with their injuries, the Terps never backed down. 

Maryland’s biggest reason for its success was their bench. Even with Okananwa playing only 22 minutes due to foul trouble and Addi Mack going scoreless in 15 minutes, the Terps bench scored 32 points — their highest in Big Ten play.  

Kyndal Walker has been a pleasant surprise for the Terps as of late and put up possibly her best stat line of the season. She led the reserves with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting while Mir McLean added 10 points of her own on 5-of-7 from the field. 

“Big minutes in production from Mir and Kyndal, I thought they were both huge,” Frese said. “Helping us, especially when we were weathering foul trouble in that first half, gave us a huge boost in that second quarter.” 

The Terps had a strong team effort to start, as five players scored at least seven points in the first half. 

That lead grew larger for Maryland as it kept rolling in the third quarter. Maryland took phenomenal care of the ball in the fourth, preventing the Spartans’ comeback and ending their rough stretch.

Despite playing limited minutes, Okananwa once again led the Terps in scoring. She had 23 points, four rebounds and five assists on the night. Okananwa did so on just 13 shots, stacking her efficient shooting with five free throws.

As a result of the injuries that have riddled the team and the foul trouble, Yarden Garzon and Saylor Poffenbarger played huge minutes with 40 and 39 played, respectively.

They provided a strong presence off the glass and contributed from beyond the arc. The duo added 29 points and nailed five triples — more than half of Maryland’s three-point production on the night.

Off the bench, McLean and Walker stepped up as a result of foul trouble, scoring eight apiece and playing pivotal defense to force 20 Michigan State turnovers. Maryland flipped that into 22 points.

That production alone fueled the Terps to a ten-point lead at the end of the half. 

“Having such a balanced team and a bench with that I think is amazing for any team,” Okananwa said. “Being able to have so much confidence in the next man up really does take the pressure off.” 

Despite playing limited minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, the chains came off for Okananwa in the second. She had 15 points in the half, allowing the team to expand their lead. 

Maryland’s clean play limited Michigan State’s chances to turn the tide in the fourth. The losing streak finally came to an end and won by a dominating margin.

With the victory, Maryland hopes to build some momentum and climb the rankings as they start heading toward tournament play. 

“No team in the country is as battle tested with us with all the overtime games,” Frese said. “Love how we continue to play.” 

The Terps will stay on the road Saturday as they head to Lincoln to tipoff against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.