Maryland women’s basketball vs. Mount St. Mary’s preview: Terps look for 3rd straight win

Maryland women’s basketball is 2-0, with wins against UMass Lowell and Maryland Eastern Shore. Things have been easy for the No. 6 Terps so far: their two wins have been by 56 and 45 points.

The No. 6 Terps have scored 206 points in two games, which gives them the nation’s second-best offense, although we’re still in the way-too-early-to-look-at-numbers part of the season.

Mount St. Mary’s comes to College Park next, and the welcome will include not only a very good basketball team but an army of elementary schoolers on field trips. The game tips at 11 a.m. so the kids can get back home on schedule. It’ll be available on BTN Plus.

Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (1-1)

The coach

Bryan Whitten. In his 10th season, Whitten is the third-winningest coach in program history. He’s been coaching since 1993, where he started at Division III King’s College.

Players to know

Caroline Hummell, junor, center, 6’1, No. 32: Hummell scored 28 points and hauled in 14 rebounds in Tuesday’s win over Morgan State. It’s a big departure from her first two years, when she came off the bench and averaged under two points per game.

Mikal Johnson, grad student, guard, 5’8, No. 25: Johnson is one of the true rarities in sport—a three-school college player. She played two seasons at Rider, then transferred to Liberty, where she played for one season before transferring again. She’s had success at every stop, earning a MAAC Rookie of the Year selection as a freshman and making 31 starts for Liberty last year, and she’s put up 14 and 19 points in the Mountaineers’ first two games.

Strength

Not fouling. This is the one area Mount St. Mary’s “won” against Pittsburgh (who won 89-54) in the season opener. Given Maryland’s struggles in this regard against Maryland Eastern Shore, there’s reason to expect the Mountaineers to stay out of foul trouble against the Terps as well. It won’t matter, though.

Weakness

Shooting. The Mountaineers shot poorly across the board last season, with a .373/.282/.662 line that simply won’t get the job done.

Prediction

Maryland wins, 104-57.