WBB: Terps surge past Blue Devils in renewed rivalry

[TSR ScottGreene]

COLLEGE PARK, MD – In a historic renewed rivalry between No. 18 Maryland women's basketball and No. 11 Duke, Maryland came out on top, 85-80, at XFINITY Center on Sunday. This was the Terps' first matchup against the Blue Devils since they defeated Duke, 65-55, in the NCAA Sweet 16 on March 28, 2015.

The Terps opened the game with nine unanswered points while forcing the Blue Devils to miss their first five shots from the floor. They remained in control the rest of the way, leading by as many as 15 early in the fourth.

The Terps improved to 3-0, while the Blue Devils were handed their first loss of the season and faltered to 2-1. The win was Maryland's first ranked win of the season and the Terps' 96th under head coach Brenda Frese. It scored a season-high in points (85) and is now 94-7 when scoring 80 points or more over the last six seasons.

Maryland had four scorers reach double figures. Kaylene Smikle made a big impression on offense as the game's leading scorer. She scored 23 points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arch. It was her second game in a row scoring more than 20 points.

Shyanne Sellers had an all-around stat sheet-filling performance. She scored 17 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds. Bri McDaniel added 15 points, including 11 in the second half.

Christina Dalce also significantly impacted the game, scoring 12 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking a shot. She earned her double-double in the third quarter, the 17th of her career. She now has two double-doubles as a Terp in three games. She contributed to Maryland outrebounding Duke 45-40.

This was Maryland's 82nd matchup all-time against Duke. Both schools are now tied at 41 wins apiece in the head-to-head series. The Terps' most significant victory against the Blue Devils in the series was on April 4, 2006, when Maryland beat top-seeded Duke, 78-75, in overtime to win the 2006 national title.


Frese's Take "That was a lot of fun," head coach Brenda Frese said. "What a great battle of two really talented teams. Special to be able to bring this rivalry back for our fans and women's basketball fans in general. I thought we came out with a really strong start with that nine-zero run. I thought you saw the confidence and just fearless. We really felt like rebounding and turnovers were going to be big keys for this game, and knowing that they're a really strong defensive team as well."

Sellers On What Impressed Her "I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not," Shyanne Sellers said. "One of the most fearless groups I've ever been a part of in my four years here. It's just amazing. We've bought into the process. We bought into each other. I don't think many people would be able to pull this off with 10 new people on their team. We just did a hell of a job this offseason of getting the right people."

Breaking Down The Action

• The Terps opened the game with nine unanswered points, forcing the Blue Devils to miss their first five shots from the floor.
• Maryland led 11-7 at the first-quarter media timeout. The first five minutes of play were highlighted by two mid-range jumpers by Shyanne Sellers, a 3-pointer by Kaylene Smikle and a massive block by Christina Dalce.
• Maryland led 21-13 at the end of the first. Smikle led all players with seven points, but Dalce had the most significant impact with six points and seven rebounds.
• The Blue Devils facilitated a quiet 6-0 run to trail by four points, but Saylor Poffenbarger drilled a 3-pointer to lead 29-22 at 7:29 in the second.
• Maryland sparked a 6-0 run in one minute just before halftime. Bri McDaniel scored back-to-back buckets, and defensively, the Terps forced the Blue Devils to shoot one for their last seven from the floor.
• The Terrapins led 40-33 at halftime. Sellers led with 11 points, and Smikle flanked with 10. They also led 28-20 on the boards as a team.
• Smikle connected on another 3-pointer at 6:41 in the third, and the Terps led 45-36. She was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arch.
• A layup by McDaniel on the fastbreak at 2:59 gave the Terps a 12-point lead. It was Maryland's largest lead of the game up to that point, and the Terps made their last three shots from the floor.
• Duke ignited a 7-0 run to cut the lead to single digits. However, McDaniel converted an and-1 to give Maryland an 11-point margin with 5:28 to play.
• Sarah Te-Biasu scored a clutch layup to put Maryland back ahead by double figures with 1:13left in the game, and the Terps closed out the victory from the free-throw line.

Double-Figure Factors

• Kaylene Smikle netted 23 points for her 40th career game in double figures. After transferring from Rutgers, it was her second game netting double-digit points as a Terp.
• Shyanne Sellers scored 17 points, recording her 69th career game in double figures. She has scored in double-figures in each of Maryland's first two games.
• Bri McDaniel scored 15 points for her 23rd game scoring in double figures. Her last double-digit scoring performance occurred in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, where she netted 10 points against Nebraska on March 9.
• Christina Dalce provided 12 points for her 26th career game in double figures. She has scored in double-figures in each of Maryland's first two games.

Sellers On The Charts

• Shyanne Sellers is 31st on the program's all-time scoring list, with 1266. She's nearing Belinda Pearman (1981-84), who scored 1,284.
• The point guard also moved up to 13th on the all-time assists list with 408. She passed Subrena Rivers (406 from 1986-90) and is nearing 12th place Shay Doron (411 from 2004-07).

Home Sweet Home

• Maryland has been a dominant home team, especially over the last decade. The Terps are 609-142 all-time in College Park, dating back to the inaugural 1971-72 season.
• Maryland is 315-47 at home under Brenda Frese, whose first season in College Park was the inaugural season of XFINITY Center.
• The Terrapins are 174-12 all-time in non-conference games in XFINITY Center.

Final Four Celebration

• Maryland welcomed back and honored alumni from its 2015 Final Four and Big Ten championship team.
• The Terps finished the 2014-15 season, their inaugural season in the Big Ten, with a 34-3 record (.919) — a program record for winning percentage. They defeated New Mexico State, Princeton, Duke and Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament to make their appearance in the Final Four.

Series History

• Today's matchup is the 82nd all-time between Maryland and Duke. Both teams are tied in the series at 41-41.
• Most recently, Maryland won 65-55 in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen on March 28, 2015.
• Maryland also beat top-seeded Duke, 78-75, in overtime to win the 2006 national title.

Numbers To Know

• 1: The win was Maryland's first ranked victory of the season.
• 2: Kaylene Smikle scored 20 or more points for the second game in a row.
• 3: Maryland is 3-0 on the season.
• 4: The Terps had four players reach double figures.
• 17: Christina Dalce recorded her 17th career double-double and her second in three games as a Terp.
• 18: Maryland is ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches preseason polls.
• 41: Maryland and Duke are tied at 41 wins in the all-time head-to-head series.
• 82: This was the 82nd matchup between the former ACC rivals.
• 85: Maryland's 85 points scored is a season high.
• 94: The Terps are 94-7 when they score 80 points or more over the last six seasons.
• 96: The Terps have 96 ranked victories under head coach Brenda Frese.
• 1500: Sarah Te-Biasu eclipsed 1,500 career points.

Up Next

• The Terps will play at Syracuse on Nov. 13. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. and air on ACC Network.

 

[terp john]

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