Sluggish start, injury don’t stop women's basketball's romp

The Terrapin women's basketball team entered the locker room at halftime of yesterday's game against NC State searching for answers.

Despite a 12-0 run late in the first half, the No. 12 Terps still trailed the Wolfpack by three points at the break. They were disjointed on each end of the floor, dealing with foul trouble, poor communication and questionable shot selection.

But during halftime, the Terps realized just what was missing:

"Swag," center Lynetta Kizer said. "That's what it is. We felt we didn't play Maryland basketball the first half, and we came out in the second half and really just stuck together."

With a rediscovered sense of confidence, the Terps took over. They held the Wolfpack scoreless for more than five minutes in a dominant 21-0 second-half run that all but sealed an 88-59 win for the Terps.

The Terps (20-3, 6-2 ACC) rode the play of their three most experienced players, Kizer and guards Anjale Barrett and Kim Rodgers. Kizer dominated the second half after being limited to just seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble and finished with a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Rodgers continued to come up big from beyond the arc for the Terps. After hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift the Terps over No. 24 Georgia Tech on Thursday, the junior nailed two key 3-pointers in the second half en route to 14 points off the bench.

And, as usual, Barrett was steady and in control at point guard, pitching in six points with six assists and helping to guide her teammates through the adversity they faced from the Wolfpack's (10-13, 1-7) feisty first-half effort.

"We came out very anxious today," Barrett said. "I told everybody we got to calm down, relax, and we're OK. Just keep being aggressive, and things will fall. Then Kim started going off, and we got energy. That's when we started playing with swag and playing Maryland basketball."

Coach Brenda Frese also credited her team's veterans for the turnaround.

"With our three juniors coming out with their voice, their confidence — their swag, they like to call it ... you could see our team start to relax," Frese said.

The Terps' biggest setback in the first half, though, wasn't anywhere on the score sheet. Forward Alyssa Thomas, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, landed awkwardly after missing a layup, aggravating a back injury she sustained against the Yellow Jackets.

After a short time on the Comcast Center floor, Thomas walked off the court gingerly. A brisk ride on a stationary bicycle led to a similarly quick on-court appearance, but she was unable to contribute and missed the entire second half.

In her absence, though, other Terps stepped up to help extend the team's win streak to seven games. They changed their approach on each end of the floor, forcing 17 Wolfpack turnovers in the second half and translating them into points of their own. In the final 20 minutes, the Terps outscored their visitors, 52-20.

"It all started with our defense. We started getting steals and pushing in transition," Barrett said. "When we lock up on defense, then that gets our offense going. That's how we went on our run."

The worrisome first half didn't pass by unnoticed. NC State entered the game at the bottom of the ACC standings, and Frese said the Terps still need to iron out the mistakes that afforded the Wolfpack its first-half lead.

"You've got to play 40 minutes," Frese said. "In ACC play, every time you step on the court, you're going to face great competition."

cwalsh@umdbk.com