With Thomas and Laurin Mincy leading the charge, Maryland (19-3, 6-3 ACC) did just that by building a 51-13 halftime lead on the strength of multiple barrages, most notably a 20-0 streak heading into the break. The Terrapins sank three of their 10 three-pointers during that stretch after a 13-1 flurry provided a 27-11 lead that had Maryland on its way to its most lopsided conference win in its last 70 games.
“I thought the first half was by far the most inspired, best effort and intensity that we’ve given to date, and it’s encouraging,” Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said. “I thought it showed a lot of character from our last time out.”
Thomas finished with 14 points and eight rebounds and was able to rest for a good portion of the second half with the outcome all but settled. Thomas injured her thumb during practice two days after Maryland lost at No. 5 Duke, 80-72, on Jan. 22, and the sophomore forward had a cast fitted for precautionary reasons.
Last season’s ACC rookie of the year who is averaging 19.3 points per game had the cast removed on Friday and was back at practice early this week. It took Thomas six seconds to score against the Eagles (5-17, 0-9), who lost their ninth in a row, shot 21 percent and were outrebounded, 50-43.
“It just felt good to be back on the court with my team,” said Thomas, who played five minutes in the second half.
Thomas scored six of Maryland’s first 11 points and finished the first half with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. She shot 6 for 9 and did not commit a turnover in 14 minutes.
When Thomas wasn’t busy getting baskets in the lane, Mincy was doing her part from long distance. The sophomore guard scored 13 of her game-high 16 points in the first half and made four of her five three-pointers before intermission.
Thomas “brings so much to our team,” Mincy said. “She brings a lot energy. She picks us up. When she’s doing her thing, we just follow her lead.”
Freshman guard Brene Moseley (Paint Branch) also scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting that included 3 for 4 from three-point range, and senior forward-center Lynetta Kizer chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
In leading from start to finish, Maryland shot 47 percent overall, 56 percent from three-point range and made 12 of 14 free throws. The Terrapins outscored Boston College inside 38-14, collected 25 points off 16 turnovers and never trailed by fewer than 25 points in the second half.
The comfortable margin also enabled Frese to give ample minutes to seldom-used reserves such as junior center Essence Townsend and sophomore guard Sequoia Austin (Holton-Arms). Maryland got 44 points from its bench players.
“In the first half we were really locked in,” Frese said. “Our ball pressure was really good. Our help-side defense I thought was tremendous. We communicated extremely well, and obviously having the bench on our end is a big assist.”
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