No. 4 Maryland clobbers Peacocks by 52 behind Jones’ 30

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — In their 101-49 victory over Saint Peter’s Thursday night, it took the No. 4 Maryland Terrapins a minute to find themselves.

Literally one minute.

The Terps couldn’t convert on their first possession of the game, allowing the Peacocks the opportunity to get on the board first.

But tight man-to-man defense by Maryland forced the Peacocks deep into the shot clock, and Kristen Confroy caused a deflection on an inside pass.

Teammate Kaila Charles dove on top of the loose ball to gain possession, and started a fast break that led to a layup by Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, putting the Terps up 2-0.

One minute and 11 seconds had elapsed.

“We started slow defensively,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said of her team’s performance. “We looked sluggish from the games and practices we’ve had, but I thought we settled in.”

The first quarter was by no means a breeze for Maryland, however; the Terps found themselves tied at 13 with less than a minute to go in the frame.

Walker-Kimbrough stepped up again to put in two layups before the period expired, giving Maryland a 17-13 edge after one. She finished with 16 points.

Brionna Jones also dominated early and often for the Terps, dumping in 11 points in the first quarter alone. She finished with a game-high and career-high 30 points on 14-16 shooting. For those counting at home, that’s 87.5 percent.

“Obviously we played through Bri,” Frese said. “I didn’t think they had an answer for her, and I thought we were able to take advantage with it.”

A Walker-Kimbrough three — the only Maryland triple of the first half — about halfway through the second quarter gave Maryland a 32-16 edge.

From there, the Terps went on a 10-2 run, led in large part by sophomore Brianna Fraser. She finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, and served as a nice complement when Jones was on the bench.

“I just try to follow Bri [Jones]’s lead because she’s the senior leader,” Fraser said. “I just want to be like Bri. I try to play just like her.”

Maryland kept its turnovers to a relative minimum, giving the ball away just six times. The Peacocks, on the other hand, recorded 28 turnovers, allowing Maryland to capitalize with a whopping 46 points off of those turnovers.

“We definitely had really good ball security,” Frese said. “Our posts were being patient and really reading what the defense was giving us.”

Whether it was Jones or Fraser, the Peacocks weren’t able to solve Maryland’s Brionna/Brianna riddle, allowing the Terps to build up their lead as the game drew to a close and secure the easy victory.

With another triple-digit scoring total in the books, the Terps look to continue the momentum when they face Loyola on Monday.