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College Park, MD -- The Maryland women's basketball team took the court for the first time of the 2015-2016 season Saturday in an exhibition game against the Goldey-Beacom Lightning, and came out on top 127 to 33.
The starting lineup for the Terps featured senior Chloe Pavlech at the point guard position and freshman Kiah Gillespie at center. Gillespie wasted no time getting acclimated to the pace of the game, winning the opening tip and notching eight points through the first two periods.
She would finish with a double-double in a stat sheet-filling performance that featured 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals.
"Obviously a nice exhibition game for us," Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said after the game. "[I] saw a lot of great things from us on both ends of the floor."
Sophomore guard Kristen Confroy had a strong outing for Maryland, finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds. She came off the bench but saw 30 minutes of action, which equated to five minutes more than any other Terp. Even with Confroy's solid numbers, Frese said it is still too early to tell whether the performance will translate into more minutes in later games.
"It's really predicated in terms of match-ups and who we're playing," she said. "But obviously we know what she brings to the table."
The Terps shot 70.7% from the field in the second half, and led by as many as 94 points at one moment during the fourth quarter. Even with this unprecedented lead, they continued to battle for offensive rebounds and loose balls, out-rebounding the Lightning 59-19 when it was all said and done. Guard Brene Moseley said offensive aggression is something the team places an emphasis on, no matter who is on the other side of the ball.
"We have to come out with the same mentality every single day," she said. "It's our first exhibition game, but we're playing it like it's our last game of the season."
Maryland played efficiently on both ends of the floor, turning the ball over just five times to the Lightning's 23 turnovers. They managed to hold Goldey-Beacom to 21.8% shooting from the field and allowed just seven free throw opportunities, of which the Lightning converted five.
The Terps will take on Indiana University of Pennsylvania in their second and final exhibition game on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.