No. 20 Maryland women’s basketball lost to No. 1 South Carolina, revealing the Terps’ bright spots and weaknesses as they transition to a traditional schedule.
Here are three takeaways from Monday’s season-opener.
Addi Mack is back
Mack put up a career-high 31 points in the second half alone, accounting for more than a third of the team’s total points. She went 6-of-10 from behind the arc and snagged six rebounds.
The Minnesota native is the only returner who shot more than 25 3-pointers last season. She landed only one
less than the entire team combined in the 2025-26 season.
Mack played just four minutes in the first half of Monday’s game, as play was essentially all South Carolina. When play began to pick up in the second half, she sped up as well.
Before the season began, Mack said she “likes to play fast,” also noting that she focused specifically on her accuracy beyond the arc.
“Just being a knockdown, sharp-shooting, three-point shooter” was a major point of emphasis in the offseason, Mack said.
Her efforts in the second half started the road to a potential comeback, and though the Terps still lost, her value on the court only grew.
First half woes may cause setbacks going forward
Maryland’s first half performance set it up for disappointment. Its 12 points in the paint, 13 turnovers and 31.4% accuracy from the field dug the Terps so far into the hole that crawling out was nearly impossible.
The Terps ultimately outscored the Gamecocks in the second half of the game, 60-40. In fact, with less than a minute to go, they closed the game to just two possessions with a 10-point run. But working from behind for the entire game put Maryland at a huge disadvantage; one it wasn’t able to completely turn around.
In the Terps’ exhibition game against No. 12 North Carolina, they also got off to a rocky start through the first 20 minutes, heading into halftime only up by one point. A slow first half forced Frese and the Terps to play catch-up, sacrificing clean plays for any scoring opportunity they could find.
Maryland’s defense wavered against South Carolina
Maryland struggled in containing leading scorers Joyce Edwards, Jerzy Robinson and Agot Makeer, allowing them to snag nine offensive rebounds. Maryland also allowed at least one point per possession, and its 16 total turnovers only boosted South Carolina’s odds.
Monday marked Robinson’s collegiate debut. She weaved through a court of veterans several times to score 15 points.
It certainly doesn’t help that a potentially vital piece of Maryland’s defensive structure, Nunu Agara, fouled out with seven minutes left while the Terps were down by 18 points.
Outside of the statistics, the Terps simply struggled to match the Gamecocks’ physicality. Maryland took several hard fouls that knocked Terps over before they could head to the line.
There is only one player on South Carolina’s roster who is less than six feet tall, whereas Maryland has five. That factor played a major role in the Terps’ loss when it came to circumventing the defense on the way to the net. The Gamecocks logged eight blocks against the Terps.
