Maryland women's basketball show flashes in exhibition, defeating Kutztown 90-63

Feature photo Courtesy of Maryland Athletics

The Maryland women’s basketball team, led by forward Stephanie Jones’ 18 points, defeated the Kutztown Golden Bears, 90-63, Sunday afternoon in their exhibition opener.

Maryland and Kutztown traded baskets in the first half, but fouls began to hurt the Golden Bears. The early foul trouble allowed Maryland to pull away from Kutztown.

After scoring 42 points in the first half, Maryland continued to dominate the second half; the Terps’ biggest lead reached 27 late in the fourth quarter.

Freshman guard Taylor Mikesell scored 16 points, shooting 4-of-6 from the 3-point line. Maryland was 7-of-15 from beyond the arc, while the Golden Bears hit 15 of their 37 3-point attempts.

Junior guard Blair Watson recorded two points and two rebounds in her first game action since suffering a torn ACL on Jan. 11.

“Just feeling [Watson’s] presence on the court and seeing where she is at has been phenomenal,” head coach Brenda Frese said.

Freshman forward Shakira Austin recorded a team-high 11 rebounds, as well as 15 points.

“Whether she missed a shot, [Austin] was going back to get that second- or third-chance opportunity,” Frese said. “She was active and all over the court on both ends.”

Said Austin: “It was very exciting. [I] had to get some nerves out the first couple of missed shots. Overall, we are pretty excited for the season and just waiting for whatever is in front of us.”

After one quarter, Maryland led by just seven points. Frese said the slow start was due to first-game nerves but pointed to areas of improvement for the team.

“I don’t think we were really strong defensively and I think we showed that we have a lot of work to continue to do,” Frese said.

Maryland’s next matchup will be at home Friday against the Clarion Golden Eagles, the last exhibition game before the season tips off against Coppin State on Nov. 9.