Sophomore forward Alyssa Thomas, the reigning ACC rookie of the year, scored 16 of her 21 points in the first half and finished with nine rebounds and three assists to complete an overpowering performance from the front-court trio.
In all, the Terrapins outrebounded Saint Joseph’s, 54-22; outscored it in the paint, 48-12; and had 15 more second-chance points.
That supremacy inside also led to a 34-19 disparity in free throw attempts. The Terrapins made Saint Joseph’s pay by making 28, including 19 of 22 combined between Kizer and Thomas, for a season-high 82 percent.
That percentage is a marked improvement from last season. Then, Maryland averaged 65 percent and in stretches appeared especially uncomfortable there.
“Obviously love the dominance on the glass we were able to display tonight,” Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said. “Being able to get the ball inside and really make things difficult for them, and then obviously getting to the free throw line as many times as we were able to . . . so just a tremendous game to be able to build upon.”
Maryland (5-0) also shot 50 percent for the game and 57 percent in the first half, when it forged a 49-33 lead. The Hawks (2-3) drew to 58-47 eight minutes into the second half on a jumper by reserve guard Erin Shields, who had 16 points and four assists, both team highs.
But Maryland went on a 9-3 run to grow its margin to 67-50, prompting Saint Joseph’s Coach Cindy Griffin to call timeout with 9 minutes 45 seconds to play. The Hawks got a three-pointer from Shields coming out of the timeout.
But sophomore guard Laurin Mincy countered for Maryland, which pulled away for good by scoring 10 consecutive points late in the game.
The outburst began with a layup from sophomore Alicia DeVaughn for a 79-61 lead with 6:04 to play. Redshirt freshman forward Whitney Bays hit a jumper after that, and Thomas followed by making both ends of bonus free throws.
Kizer then made a pair of foul shots and sank a jumper off a pass from Mincy for the largest lead of the game. St. Joseph’s got no closer than 20 points.
“I think there’s still room for improvement,” said Kizer, who was All-Met at Potomac (Va.) as a senior.
“I just want to go out and play hard for my team pretty much, but it definitely feels good to be back. Like I said, any way I can contribute. The girls worked so hard for the first couple of games. Any way I can go out and just play my hardest, that’s what I want to do.”
Maryland did get a scare in the first half when starting point guard Anjale Barrett left the game with an apparent knee injury that left her in obvious pain. Frese, however, said Barrett was not seriously hurt and that she was held out thereafter for precautionary reasons, keeping in mind the Terrapins are heading to a Thanksgiving tournament in South Florida for two days.
Loading...
Comments