Maryland women’s basketball blows Millersville out, 94-39, in final exhibition before season

After a slow first quarter, Maryland senior guard Abby Meyers’ electric 14-point second quarter helped Maryland women’s basketball cruise to a 94-39 victory over Millersville in its final exhibition at the Xfinity Center in College Park.

Four different Terps scored in double figures in their final tune-up of the preseason.

“I know I’m a knockdown shooter and we had meetings with the coaches in terms of roles and what is expected from us and from me,” Meyers said. “That’s what I’m going to be working on every day in practice for the games moving forward.”

The Terps began the game slow, as they struggled to establish star senior guard Diamond Miller in the post.

The first quarter was surprisingly competitive, as Maryland took a narrow 17-16 lead after the first 10 minutes. The Terps went 7-of-20 from the field after missing several layups. In the first quarter, Maryland senior guard/forward Faith Masonius drove left before making a shifty spin but was unable to finish the play.

Maryland head coach Brenda Frese experimented with different defensive sets in the first quarter, as she used a 2-2-1 full court press along with a 2-3 zone.

Maryland looked like a completely different team in the second quarter. The Terps were led by senior guard Abby Meyers, who scored 14 points and splashed in two deep three-pointers. Maryland’s freshmen duo of guards Gia Cooke and Bri McDaniel provided a spark off the bench to the tune of 10 combined points.

“I asked them if they were happy with the start and I thought there was just great accountability that came from the locker rooms especially from the starters,” Frese said. “They [knew] they had to set the tone and needed to do a better job, so I loved the ownership.”

The Terps seemingly came out of halftime with an emphasis to put the game out of reach, and they would do just that.

Maryland dominated the second half by limiting Millersville to 19 second-half points and a 22.8% field goal percentage in the contest.

Frese’s group forced 29 turnovers and was able to get a few steals in the backcourt to get favorable layups on the other end. Maryland’s defense scored 29 points off Millersville turnovers, which also allowed the Terps to get out in transition to ignite their fast break.

Frese noted in a previous preseason media availability that running in transition would be a focal point this season.

The Terps answered that call Wednesday, using crisp passes and adequate spacing to produce 37 fast-break points.

Maryland will open the 2022-23 season on Nov. 7 versus George Mason at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia.