After a rusty start, Maryland women’s basketball demolished Saint Peter’s 101-49 Thursday, improving to 10-0 on the season with the home win.
Brionna Jones set a new career high with 30 points on 14-of-16 shooting from the floor. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 16, and Brianna Fraser had 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Terps put on a clinic of how to get the ball inside and attack the lane, scoring 72 points in the paint. The Peacocks also struggled against Maryland’s defense, turning the ball over 28 times, which led to 46 Maryland points.
The only thing Saint Peter’s did well was shoot three pointers, finishing the game 7-of-12 from behind the arc.
Maryland went to Jones early and often, as Saint Peter’s had no answer for her down low. After a layup from Shatori Walker-Kimbrough to start the game, Jones scored 11 points in a row.
The Peacocks were able to keep it close by slowing down the tempo and hitting a few early jump shots, and two free throws from leading scorer Talah Hughes tied the game at 13 with 57 seconds left in the first quarter.
It was all Maryland after that. Walker-Kimbrough had back-to-back layups to end the first quarter, and the Terps went on a 25-5 run to start the second quarter. Jones kept manhandling Saint Peter’s down low, and was outscoring the Peacocks 19-18 when she came out with 5:03 left in the half.
Even with Jones out, Maryland was still able to attack the basket at will. Ieshia Small and Slocum each had layups, and the Peacocks struggled to contain Kaila Charles. Saint Peter’s also struggled with the Terps length and intensity on defense, and were called for shot clock violations on back to back possession in the second quarter.
Saint Peter’s only had the upper hand in rebounds in the first half, outrebounding the Terps 14-12, but still allowed Brianna Fraser to run through the lane untouched for a tip-in late in the second quarter.
Brianna Fraser with the one-handed putback! #FearTheTurtle #WeAreMaryland https://t.co/wGE1cmcpJi
— Maryland WBB (@umdwbb) December 9, 2016
The Terps outscored Saint Peter’s 34-12 in the second quarter and led 51-25 at halftime.
Maryland continued to go to Jones in the third quarter, and she surpassed her previous career high of 28 on an and-one with 3:36 left in the third quarter.
After Jones came out the Terps continued to coast with the reserves in, and went over the century mark for the fourth time this season on a Sarah Myers layup with 1:24 left in the game.
Three things to know
1. Brionna Jones put on a clinic. When Jones set her previous career high of 28 last season at Ohio State, it took her 35 minutes. She reached 30 points in only 20 minutes Thursday. The Peacocks had no answer for the senior, and she punished them.
2. Brianna Fraser was strong again off the bench. The sophomore had 13 points and eight rebounds, and has given Maryland a solid presence off the bench the past four games, averaging 7.5 points and 8.3 rebounds over that stretch. Fraser looks better and more confident this season, which is encouraging after she struggled to get minutes late last year.
3. Maryland cut down on the turnovers. Saint Peter’s didn’t provide a lot of pressure, but it’s still a good sign that the Terps only turned the ball over six times.