Maryland women’s basketball’s opening schedule has not seen much to fret about. 

The No. 9 Terps scheduled easy non-conference games, but Sunday’s matchup came against an NCAA tournament team from last season — George Mason. 

The Patriots stayed close in the first half, but No. 9 Maryland imposed its will. The Terps allowed just 26 second-half points as they cruised to an 84-62 win at Xfinity Center. 

The Terps and Patriots met last season with a similar style to the one in this game. The game stayed within distance until the Terps pulled away. 

“This was a game I did not take lightly,” said head coach Brenda Frese. “They beat Georgetown, and we know it was a game last year for 40 minutes.” 

On Sunday, it was a monster second-half performance. 

When they exited halftime, Maryland looked like a completely different team. Offensively, they got to the rim at ease, as 20 of their 48 second-half points came in the paint alone.

It was a team effort as Oluchi Okananwa, Yarden Garzon and Addi Mack all had double-digit points in the second half alone. 

On the other side, the defense was suffocating. The Terps forced 11 turnovers and Saylor Poffenbarger had five steals in just the second half. They also dominated the rebounding battle with 26 total rebounds to George Mason’s 12. 

Throughout the game, the Terps were led by Okananwa who had her season high in points with 23, lodging her seventh straight double-digit outing and tied for the most of any Terp this season. On top of that, she had four rebounds and five assists. 

After missing the previous game due to ankle soreness, Mack scored 12 points off the bench, 10 of which came in the third quarter. Garzon also continues to show improvement as the season progresses, scoring 16 and bringing in nine rebounds. 

George Mason had Maryland on their toes quickly. It was a fast-paced matchup in the first as both teams went back and forth up and down the court. This style of play allowed the Patriots to pull ahead and gain a 24-23 lead. 

George Mason carried their momentum into the second quarter, pulling even further ahead of the Terps. Out of a timeout late in the quarter, though, Maryland started to fight back.

Okananwa drove hard to the basket and scored, drawing a foul on the way. This was the spark the Terps needed as they slowly crept. Saylor Poffenbarger’s jumper to close out the half tied it up — a blessing after a rough first-half showing. 

“I thought we didn’t put a great first 20 minutes together, kind of out of sync and out of rhythm,” Frese said. “But credit George Mason, they were ready to play.” 

Maryland left halftime looking like a completely different team. In the first two minutes of the quarter, they forced George Mason to call a timeout after scoring seven immediately. This all led to a quarter where Maryland outscored the Patriots 32-17. 

Mack, Garzon and Okananwa led the way in the dominant third period, 28 of the Terps’ points. 

“It’s just one possession at a time,” Okananwa said. “One rebound at a time. You know, one defensive stop at a time, and then that kind of snowball effects.” 

George Mason was unable to mount a comeback in the fourth as Maryland kept up their tenacious offense and defense, winning by 22.

The Terps’ next game will be their first ranked matchup against No. 20 Kentucky on Wednesday and before Hofstra on Thursday at the Discover Puerto Rico Classic.