After trailing by double digits for over an hour of real time, No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball had chipped No. 8 Michigan’s lead down to 10 points late in the third quarter. The Terps had given Michigan a taste of its own medicine, speeding the Wolverines up and causing a string of turnovers.
But right when the Terps seemed poised to cut the deficit to single digits, Syla Swords got to the line for two free throws. The Wolverines got the ball back, and she dribbled to her left, nailing a fadeaway
three on the move.
All day, Michigan had an answer when Maryland got close, and the Terps fell, 87-69. Olivia Olson lit the Terps up for 28 points. She won the battle of the “O.O.”s, despite a productive 19 points from Oluchi Okananwa.
“We know every time we play Michigan it’s a team that’s relentless, I thought that their intensity really got to us,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. “We haven’t really allowed teams to do that until this point.”
Michigan and Maryland have some major similarities in their offensive identities. Both squads love to get out and run off misses, makes, turnovers or any other time they can.
It didn’t take long for that to become clear in Ann Arbor — the game got out to a breakneck pace right away. Michigan drained an open three, and Oluchi Okananwa instantly ran full speed the other direction, getting a layup at the rim.
Michigan seemed to be imposing the pace on the Terps, though. The Wolverines, who boast one of the best offenses in the conference, shot almost 77% in the opening quarter.
“We’re a high paced team as well, there were times in the game where we kind of got away from that,” Okananwa said.
Yarden Garzon hit a couple transition 3-pointers to help keep the Terps within striking distance, but the Wolverines’ combination of pace and efficiency helped them build an early lead. Despite being outscored in the first quarter, Maryland managed to avoid being sped up and turning the ball over.
The second quarter saw that take a drastic turn for the worse, as the Terps started to play too fast and give the ball away. On the other end, Olson made Maryland pay repeatedly.
Olson was unguardable. When the Terps ran her off the 3-point line, she got to the rim and finished regardless of the level of contest or contact. But when she got even an inch to breathe, she knocked down a three. By halftime, she was up to 21 points with just a single missed field goal — a heat-check 3-pointer from the logo.
Maryland’s own “O.O.” was not finding the same success. Okananwa got into foul trouble, picking up her third infraction before the break. Michigan also sent double teams at her, successfully forcing her into three turnovers.
The Terps were in a 15-point hole at the break — a not unfamiliar position for a team that has had to mount many second-half comebacks over the season.
On Saturday afternoon, it wasn’t to be. The Terps cleaned up their execution in quarter three, but when they had opportunities to close the gap within 10, they would miss an easy jumper or turn the ball over. On the other end, Maryland slowed Olson down some, but Swords stepped up to fill her role.
Okananwa did her best to keep Maryland close, chasing Swords around the perimeter and running Maryland’s offense, but she didn’t have much help on the offensive end.
“Coach never wants me to take my intensity down,” Okananwa said of playing through foul trouble. “It’s just playing smart, playing disciplined.”
Addi Mack scored 11 of her 12 points in the second half, but Garzon’s hot shooting cooled off and Isi Ozzy-Momodu struggled to find anything inside.
The Terps had one final push — an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter that cut Michigan’s lead back down to 10 — but Mila Holloway promptly ended it, bulldozing Rainey Welson for a transition layup.
From there, Michigan coasted, celebrating its seniors with large ovations as they checked out of the game one-by-one. The Terps ultimately couldn’t keep up with the Wolverines on the road, as their regular season ended with a loss.
Three things to know
1. No double-bye. The loss for Maryland eliminates it from double-bye contention in the Big Ten Tournament next weekend, meaning it will play its first game on Thursday. Maryland will be the No. 6-seed if Ohio State beats Michigan State and the No. 7-seed if the Spartans win.
2. Poffenbarger was absent. In 24 minutes, Saylor Poffenbarger was a non-factor offensively for the Terps. She took just one shot, didn’t score and turned it over three times.
“We need her scoring and we need her leadership,” Frese said of Poffenbarger. “She’s a captain and [we need her] continuing to set the tone for us with a confident mentality.”
3. Bench scoring slowed down. A feature of Maryland’s win streak was a major uptick in bench scoring. Welson, Mir McLean (who started today, but played one less minute than Ozzy-Momodu) and Kyndal Walker all made contributions off the bench at various points, but only Walker scored more than four points on Saturday afternoon.
