No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball looks to start new win streak at home against Michigan State

Maryland women’s basketball (11-2, 7-1 B1G) will look to get back on track as they take on Michigan State on Thursday at 4 p.m. in College Park.

Maryland was originally supposed to take on Rutgers Thursday, but that game was postponed due to health and safety protocols. The Spartans did not appear on the schedule again until Feb. 10, but both teams decided to move the game to Thursday.

After three straight away games, the Terps will be back at the XFINITY Center for the first time since Jan. 10. Maryland is coming off a two-point loss to No. 14 Ohio State on Monday. The loss snapped a 10-game in-season winning streak and 24-game win streak against Big Ten opponents dating back to last season.

Maryland was sloppy on both sides of the floor for much of the game, as it turned the ball over 16 times and lost the rebounding battle 44-38 against the Buckeyes. The Terps lack of depth was on display against Ohio State. Sophomore guard Ashley Owusu played all 40 minutes, and despite scoring 33 points while dishing out eight assists, Owusu turned the ball over six times.

“When you ask her to carry a load on both ends of the floor, we’ve got to be able to find ways to rescue her and Katie,” Head Coach Brenda Frese said. “In order to do that everybodys got to show up and play.”

This is the second time this season the Terps and Spartans will face off. In the first meeting on Jan. 7, Maryland escaped with a 93-87 victory in East Lansing. Owusu and Chloe Bibby each finished with 20 points, while Katie Benzan chipped in 19. Maryland native and Spartans star Nia Clouden went off for 32 points as Michigan State made a late run in the game.

The Terps have won three straight against Michigan State and Frese is 15-3 in her career against the Spartans. While the Terps continue to have the best offense in the country averaging 92 points per game, they have failed to reach that mark in four of their last five outings.

The Terps have not experienced many losses this season, but Frese expects her group to respond well.

“It’s still a very young team so, you know, it’s gonna grow us up in a hurry,” Frese said. “They’re great competitors and they’re going to learn from tonight and bounce back and be even better.”