Mikesell carries Maryland past Delaware in 99-55 win
Behind a staunch defensive effort and a steady onslaught of threes from Taylor Mikesell, the No. 8 Maryland Terrapins opened their three-game homestead with a 99-55 win against the Delaware Blue Hens.
Mikesell set Maryland’s single-season 3-point record with 95 made threes as a freshman last year. Since scoring 14 points in the season-opener against Wagner, she had been in a shooting slump. Against South Carolina and James Madison, Mikesell shot 4 of 15 from the field and made two of her 10 attempts from beyond the arc.
On Sunday, her shooting stroke returned after hitting her first two attempts, scoring the game’s first bucket on a mid-range jumper and making the game’s first three, which proved to be the catalyst to a 20-4 Terps run to open the game.
Mikesell credits her teammates and short-term memory for finding her shot again, remarking that she already had confidence in her ability.
“It’s just adding confidence to my shot,” Mikesell said. “The way we were playing unselfishly today. I knew the ball was going to find me again.”
Unlike their performance against James Madison on Wednesday, where they rallied from a 19-point deficit, Maryland never relinquished the lead Sunday afternoon, giving their electric home crowd a dominant effort.
Head coach Brenda Freese deployed a new lineup that saw 6-5 sophomore forward Shakira Austin and senior guard Blair Watson tallying their first starts of the season.
The lineup manufactured easy scoring and rebounding opportunities and suffocated the Blue Hens on all of their offensive possessions in the first half.
Austin had 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe to go along with six boards and a career-high four assists. Watson and freshman guard Ashley Owusu each scored 12 points and senior forward Stephanie Jones added 11 points.
The Terps outscored Delaware 40-12 in the paint and limited them to 31 percent shooting despite the Hens’ 44 percent shooting from three.
“If we want to go where we need to go, we need to use our 6-5 presence inside,” Freese said.
Their full-court trap formed a wall that stifled Delaware’s offense. Maryland forced 17 turnovers that turned into 27 points-off-turnovers in the first half alone and 25 turnovers leading to 41 points for the game.
“I thought we were really locked in,” Freese said. “I thought we took great pride on the defensive end and that defense led to our offense.”
Guard Sara Vujacic, who had two steals to go along with a career-high six assists credits a visit from former Maryland players for the cohesive effort on both sides of the court.
“The alumni came to our practice [yesterday] and they talked about playing together, playing strong, being competitive,” Vujacic said. “I think that was the turning point.”
Maryland will host George Washington on Wednesday (11/20) at 7 p.m.