Maryland women’s basketball vs. Wisconsin final score, with 3 things to know from the Terps’ 89-40 win

Maryland women’s basketball stayed perfect in Big Ten play, defeating Wisconsin 89-40. Freshman point guard Destiny Slocum missed the game with an illness, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Terps from improving to 26-1.

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough led all scorers with 22 points, including 16 in the first half, and Brionna Jones added 16 points and 11 rebounds for her 19th double-double of the season. Freshmen Kaila Charles and Blair Watson also scored in double figures, finishing with 15 and 10, respectively.

Ieshia Small started in Slocum’s place and finished with eight points and four assists on just 3-of-8 shooting, but looked more controlled running the offense than in other games this season.

Sarah Myers took over at point for Small in the fourth quarter, and it was the most time she’s seen at the position since non-conference play.

Maryland put together possibly their most complete game of the season, shooting 51.6 percent from the field while holding the Badgers to 31.5 percent shooting, and outrebounded Wisconsin 46-24. The only bright spot for the Badgers was freshman Courtney Frederickson, who scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

The Terps got out to a blazing fast start, scoring the first 16 points. The Badgers didn’t get a bucket until Malayna Johnson with 3:45 left in the first quarter. Maryland went 1-of-6 to end the quarter, but still had an 18-5 lead.

Maryland held Wisconsin scoreless for the first 3:15 of the second quarter, and went on an 13-0 run to extend the lead to 31-5.

The lead stretched to 30 on a Kaila Charles free throw that made it 37-7 with 5:09 to go, and Maryland led 43-14 at halftime. The only time the Terps have allowed fewer points in a first half this season was when they only allowed 13 to Arizona State in an 83-42 win on Nov. 25.

The lead allowed Brenda Frese to be extend her rotation, as 10 players saw action in the first half. Blair Watson checked in in the first quarter after playing just 10 minutes in the last five games, and hit her first three pointer in Xfinity Center in over two months.

Both teams shot over 60 percent in the third quarter, but Maryland was able to extend its lead to 71-31. Every Maryland player saw the court in the fourth quarter, and the Terps held Wisconsin to just 40 points, the fewest they’ve allowed this season.

Three things to know

1. Wisconsin was no match for Maryland. This could have been a potentially rough game for the offense with Slocum out, but the Terps showed no signs of being out-of-sync. They put the game away in the first quarter, and were dominant throughout.

2. Sarah Myers showed some flashes at point guard. The freshman has played just four minutes a game in conference play, but played the whole fourth quarter Wednesday. She got some tough rebounds, and had two nice breakaway layups.

3. Monday will be a lot tougher. After playing the last-place team in the Big Ten, the Terps pivot to a crucial road matchup at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are the only team to beat the Terps since in conference play since they joined the Big Ten, and win would give Maryland their third straight Big Ten regular season title.