No. 3 Maryland punishes Iowa sooner in rematch

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The last time the No. 3 Maryland Terrapins and the Iowa Hawkeyes squared off, Jan. 14, the Terps fought back from a first-half deficit to secure a 98-82 victory.

In that game, it was a 28-12 scoring advantage in the third quarter that gave the Terps the win.

Sunday, the teams faced off again — this time on Maryland’s home court — but Maryland (21-1, 9-0 Big Ten) didn’t wait until the third quarter to take command offensively.

“Especially in the second quarter I thought our starters did a tremendous job moving the ball and being aggressive,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said after the Terps’ 100-81 win. “We had some really good energy off the bench.”

After a close first quarter that saw the Terps shoot 56 percent from the field on 10-of-18 shooting and the Hawkeyes go 7-for-15 for 47 percent, Maryland hit its stride on both ends of the floor in the second quarter.

Near the end of the period, the Terps went on a 16-3 run — which featured 3 steals — that stretched what was a 23-18 edge after the first quarter to a 56-36 advantage at the break.

“We had some uncharacteristic breakdowns in the first quarter so it was nice to be able to see us tighten up in the second quarter,” Frese said. “We were able to get on the same page.”

Iowa’s Kathleen Doyle was a thorn in the Terps’ side throughout most of the first half, leading all scorers with 14 points at the break. She finished with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

“Kathleen Doyle was sensational for them,” Frese said. “She was a spark and tremendous energy and gave them a lot of great plays today.”

The Terps were able to remain comfortable after the half due to a solid back end of the game. Their lead never dropped below a double-digit margin in the third or fourth quarter.

Maryland seniors Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who had 25 and 22 points, respectively, in the Jan. 14 contest, led the way again for the Terps Sunday.

Jones finished with a game-high 28 points on 12-of-13 shooting from the field.

Though Iowa (13-8, 4-4 Big Ten) couldn’t close the gap to any less than 11 in the fourth quarter, Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bluder said her team’s offense — which included five players with double-digit scoring totals — wasn’t the problem.

“I’m happy with our offense today,” she said. “I thought we played very well offensively. It was a defensive battle for us. We just didn’t get the job done defensively.”

Maryland’s senior duo of Jones and Walker-Kimbrough combined for 46 points, proving to be too much for Iowa in the end and allowing the Terps to record their second victory over the Hawkeyes this season.