Mikesell, Jones and Austin Combine for 65-points in 60-point shellacking of Loyola
Sophomore forward Shakira Austin (No. 1), sophomore guard Taylor Mikesell (No. 11) and senior guard Blair Watson (No. 22) celebrate a made basket along with other Maryland basketball team members in Nov. 24 win over Quinnipiac. ('I’Shea Boyd/The Black Explosion)
After a tough loss against No. 13 NC State on Dec. 4, the No. 9 Maryland Terrapins cruised to a convincing 105-45 home victory over Loyola (Md.) Sunday.
Senior forward Stephanie Jones and sophomore guard Taylor Mikesell and sophomore forward Shakira Austin each scored at least 20 points for Maryland (8-2) in the 60-point rout. This was the first time this season that the Terps have had three 20-point scorers in a single contest.
Mikesell came out of the gate striking as her third 3-pointer at the 5:25 mark of the first quarter capped a 13-5 run for Maryland. In the second period, she hit two more shots from beyond-the-arc for a game-high 17 points at the half.
She ended the game with 20 points and tied the game-high with five assists. Her sixth 3-pointer with four minutes left in the game was a new career-best for a single game.
The forward, as cool and calm as ever, said her new personal best came in the “flow of the game,” crediting persistence and hard work in practice.
“I shoot 1,000 shots a day, so I feel like it’s whatever,” she said casually. “Records get broken but I feel like it’s the hard work every day, coming in and just being diligent. It comes from hard work.”
Behind Mikesell, the Terps led 20-10 at the end of the first and started the second with a 20-2 run that ballooned their lead to 38 points. They led 50-17 at the half.
Before tip-off, the senior Jones was honored for her The senior Jones was honored before tip-off for joining the 1,000-career points club. She became the 34th Terp to reach the milestone on November 23rd against Quinnipiac. With 20 points, six boards, four assists and four steals against Loyola, Jones had her best statistical effort of the season.
Head coach Brenda Frese was impressed with the senior’s grit and resilience, noting that she took “personal pride” and “accountability” in her effort.
“I thought Stephanie’s toughness was on display all night tonight, whether it be defense, rebounding, offensively finishing at the rim,” Frese said.
Jones and Austin both dominated the second half, finding easy scores against much smaller Loyola defenders. The duo combined for 31 points in the half as they found easy layups on putbacks and transitions.
Austin scored a career-high 25 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. The sophomore’s presence in the paint provided a consistent safety net for Maryland. If she wasn’t scoring, she was finding ways to move the ball from out of the post, collecting a pair of assists.
The two forwards said they enjoyed playing with one another and expressed how they were able to feed off one another.
“It’s fun when we are both in the game with each other,” Austin said. “We are able to look for each other a lot. Half of the time they are not able to double us because they can’t stop both of us at the same time.”
At the end of the third, the Terps led 80-31 and put the game safely away.
After losing the battle of the boards against NC State, rebounding was a focus for Maryland. They dominated Loyola 53-22 on the glass. The Terps turned 25 Loyola turnovers into 30 points and outscored the Greyhounds by 28 points in the paint.
Senior Kaila Charles had 13 points, nine boards and four assists, while freshman guard Ashley Owusu chipped in nine points, five rebounds and tied Mikesell with a game-high five assists.
The Terps will be on a ten-day break for final exams until their matchup against Georgia State on Nov. 18th at the GSU Sports Arena.