Guard Kelsey Marshall led Miami in scoring with 24 points to go along with a game-high six assists, but it was not enough to defeat No. 8 Maryland as the Canes fell 82-74 in College Park.
“I thought it was a real good basketball game at the end of the fourth quarter,” Miami head coach Katie Meier said. “[Maryland] executed down the stretch … They’re a great basketball team.”
It was a back-and-forth battle for much of the contest, with the Terrapins (7-2) finally pulling ahead for good in the game’s final minutes. Entering the fourth quarter with a 60-59 lead, the Canes were outscored by nine in the final period of action.
“We really wanted to challenge their toughness … We really wanted to try and frustrate them,” Meier said. “[Maryland] stayed really calm and did some really smart things.”
The Hurricanes (4-3) struggled to stop Maryland forward Angel Reese, who finished with a game-high 26 points. She was a force in the low post and made some clutch baskets to help the Terrapins prevail against the relentless Hurricanes.
Miami forced Maryland into committing 16 turnovers, which is uncharacteristic for a very disciplined Terrapins squad. Miami took better care of the ball, turning it over only 12 times.
“It needed to be more than 16,” Meier said. “[Maryland] is a very composed team; you can tell that they’re confident, that they know who they are and they ran some smart stuff.”
The boards were an issue for the Hurricanes, as they got out-rebounded by Maryland 48-22; the Terrapins had six more offensive rebounds than Miami had defensive rebounds. No player was more impactful on the boards than Reese, who ended with a game-high 15 rebounds for a double-double.
“It’s not like all of a sudden Maryland’s a great rebounding team and all of a sudden they have great size,” Meier said. “They’re monsters, they’re big. They’re really good [at rebounding].
Freshman guard Lashae Dwyer posted the best numbers of her young collegiate career, finishing with 11 points and four rebounds off Miami’s bench. She provided a spark plug for the Hurricanes throughout much of Thursday’s contest.
The loss to Maryland marks the second straight loss that Miami’s suffered to teams ranked in the top 10, both of which were by single-digit deficits.
One aspect of the loss that the Canes will hope to carry over to future matchups is their 3-point shooting. Miami shot 9-for-19 from beyond the arc against the Terrapins. At a scorching 47%, this was the most efficient the Hurricanes have been all season from 3-point range.
Miami looks to bounce-back on Sunday against Tulane. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.