COLLEGE PARK, MD — Kaylene Smikle was in position for a defensive rebound as the first half wound to a close against William & Mary, but Ava McKennie grabbed the ball instead. The freshman’s board allowed Smikle to turn and sneak up the court unmarked. A milestone possession followed.
Collecting a Bri McDaniel pass on the wing, Smikle sized up the situation and effortlessly let off a three pointer that barely bothered the net on its way down. The triple put Smikle at 1,000 career points and was Maryland’s 15th point without reply.
Aided by that dominant second-quarter run, the Terps came out on top against William & Mary, 107-57, in front of a raucous, sold-out Field Trip Day crowd including more than 15,000 local students.
“I came to the Maryland games when I was little,” recalled graduate student and Elkton, Md. native Allie Kubek. “I sat in the stands, and the people who were playing were like idols to me, so I think that it’s just a full circle moment for me to be able to play for a bunch of little children. And the environment is always great when they come, too, they’re always screaming and cheering for us.”
Maryland (11-0, 1-0 Big Ten) fed off of the energy of the program’s fifth-ever Xfinity Center sellout early on, with cheers regularly surpassing 100 decibels erupting on every score and defensive stop.
The Terps came out fast — nearly too fast, as several early possessions turned into missed shots due to the pace. But, with time, Maryland set a solid shooting clip.
The Terps found their offensive groove in large part thanks to several fouls from a physical William & Mary team (3-8, 0-0 CAA). The home squad attempted 12 free throws in the first quarter and 22 total before the Tribe shot their first.
Maryland played the game with a physicality of its own, drawing contact and dominating the interior as it has all season. Saylor Poffenbarger snagged the first five boards for Maryland and finished with a season-high 15 rebounds, the most for a Terp since Angel Reese in 2022.
Despite that physicality, though, the Terps ended the first period cold. Five consecutive missed shots and two turnovers gave William & Mary the chance to stick a foot in the door.
For a moment, it appeared they would take it. A driving layup from the Tribe’s Rebekah Frisby-Smith and a wide open three from Emma West helped William & Mary cut the lead to four just 90 seconds into the second quarter.
Needing a response, Shyanne Sellers took matters into her own hands, taking the inbounds pass and blowing past a defender on her way to the basket to spark the Maryland offense. A turnover and a missed layup by Kubek followed for the Terps, but the cap had come off the rim.
Maryland’s offense exploded to life in the second quarter, embarking on a 21-2 run that quickly put the game out of reach. Smikle and Allie Kubek took turns dissecting the William & Mary defense, cutting inside and making layups with no response.
Smikle beat the visitors from behind the arc as well, finishing the day 3-for-5 on threes – including that 1,000th career point. She had a game-high 21, her sixth 20-point effort of the season.
Interestingly, the Terps and the Tribe both finished the first half 4-for-17 from deep and shot roughly 35% from the field, yet Maryland led by 19 at the break. 15 points from 20 free throws made the difference, with that particular advantage only set to grow in the second half.
With a gap established, the Terps came out from the break flat. Back-to-back three pointers from William & Mary’s Alex Nascimento demanded Maryland not sleepwalk to the end of the game. And the Terps duly woke up, ending the second half with some preposterous statistics.
Over the final 20 minutes, Maryland shot 53% from the field while also giving what coach Brenda Frese called “some of [their] best defensive effort” on the season, holding the Tribe to 29% shooting over the final 16 minutes.
Maryland outrebounded William & Mary 30-5 through the final 20 minutes and 62-28 overall, boosting a rebounding margin that was fourth-best in the country heading into the contest.
And Maryland shot 20-for-30 from the charity stripe in the second half, finishing 35-for-50 from the free throw line. 50 attempts is their most in a game since joining the Big Ten in 2014 and is tied for the seventh-most in Big Ten history.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a situation like that from a foul end. I liked how aggressive we were in being able to get to the glass and drawing fouls… you want to have those opportunities at the free throw line to add points,” Frese said.
Dalce sank the Terps’ 50th free throw as Maryland closed out the final seven minutes with a 20-1 run that made the scoreline look gaudy. It was the Terps’ second 100-point performance of the season, with free throws making up over a third of the total points scored.
At the end of the day, Frese – and the children in attendance – will not care how the win came about.
“This is one of our favorite days of the year,” the head coach admitted. “It’s so much fun to bring in so much energy to this game with an 11 a.m. tip. We hope all the kids came away becoming Maryland fans for life and tell their parents they want to come back.”
The return of that energy could be crucial for Maryland, as the Terps will host a currently undefeated Michigan State side on Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. The call will be live on WMUC Sports.
