Late in the fourth quarter of No. 5-seed Maryland women’s basketball’s opening-round NCAA Tournament game against No.12-seed Murray State, Kyndal Walker caught the ball uncontested at the free throw line.
It was a shot she had already made several times, but she passed up a good shot for a great one — pump faking and blowing past her defender for an open layup.
It was this kind of offensive execution that propelled the Terps to a blowout first round victory over the Racers, 99-67. Walker led the Terps with
20 points on the afternoon.
Maryland’s clearest advantage against the Racers entering Friday was its length and size. The Terps quickly made that apparent, grabbing two offensive boards before Oluchi Okananwa turned the second into a putback bucket.
Murray State had its own plan of attack, though. That started with its leading scorer and Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Halli Poock. They looked to free Poock up with screens and get her going in transition. When Maryland tried to full court press early, Poock sprinted down the court before any Terps could recover and finished an and-one against Okananwa.
Poock beat the Terps frequently, scoring 12 of Murray State’s opening 19 points, but the Racers did not have any creative solutions defensively.
When Maryland avoided committing turnovers or settling for three, it seemed it could almost always get what it was looking for offensively. Tenacious rebounders like McLean and Saylor Poffenbarger couldn’t be kept off the glass, and Addi Mack found her shooting rhythm with a few early 3-pointers.
The frenetic pace turned the game quickly into a shootout, with Maryland leading, 28-19, after one quarter.
As the game wore on, it became clear that it was a track meet, and the Racers were in second place. While Poock continued to make tough contested threes and and-one floaters, Maryland simultaneously scored at will.
Nobody had better a first half than Walker, who was unstoppable getting to her right hand. Whether it was a layup or a pull-up elbow jumper — her specialty — she shot nearly perfect early on.
After 20 minutes, Maryland led, 51-35.
Murray State’s search for answers in the halftime locker room didn’t yield results, either. Maryland continued to run at the Racers in transition, but it wasn’t just its usual transition star in Okananwa getting out on the break.
All five Terps seemed to be looking to get out and run at all times, regardless of whether it ended in make or miss.
Some incredible shotmaking from Poock got the Racers as close as 14 late in the third quarter, but they wouldn’t tighten the score any further.
Maryland put an exclamation point on its victory with a 28-6 fourth quarter. Everyone got involved, including Rainey Welson, who splashed a late three. The Terps now await the winner of No. 4-seed North Carolina and No. 13-seed Western Illinois.
Three things to know
1. Terps were too big. It was clear that Maryland was the bigger team heading into the game, but matchups don’t always play out the way they look like they will on paper. In this case, they did. The Terps dominated the Racers inside, outscoring them, 52-38, in the paint and outrebounding them, 51-21.
2. First taste of March was delicious for the freshmen. Sometimes playing in your first March Madness game is a daunting task, but for Kyndal Walker and Addi Mack, it looked like a pickup game. The two combined for 38 points and led Maryland’s scoring attack, taking a weight off Okananwa’s usually heavy offensive burden.
3. McLean continues to spark Maryland’s success. One consistent factor in Maryland’s wins since January has been Mir McLean, who has been starting as an undersized center in recent games. Once again, McLean provided a massive boost of energy, proving to be relentless on the offensive glass with a staggering nine offensive boards and 19 points.
