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Illinois Hands No. 7 Maryland Its First Loss Of The Season

The Terps are handed their first loss of the season to open up the new year, after the Fighting Illini respond big in the second half.
Jaden Golding|
Maryland vs. Illinois | Highlights | Big Ten Women's Basketball | 01/01/26
Maryland vs. Illinois | Highlights | Big Ten Women's Basketball | 01/01/26 | Big Ten Network

A new year brought something to the Maryland Terrapins women's basketball team that it has yet to experience this season: a loss. Illinois defeated Maryland this afternoon in a tight 73-70 finish at State Farm Center.

Brenda Frese's squad had to overcome some early foul trouble from starting point guard Addi Mack, which caused Frese to turn to the reserves earlier than anticipated.

It was a back-and-forth, sloppy contest from both sides. Maryland (14-1, 2-1 Big Ten) led 39-34 at the half. Illinois (13-1, 3-0 Big Ten) opened up the third quarter on a 12-4 run that put them ahead by three. The Terps closed out the quarter scoring 11 of the final 17 points converted, reclaiming the lead only by two heading into the fourth.

Maryland led 60-55 with 7:53 on the clock after a layup by Yarden Garzon. Maryland's offense stagnated, unable to convert on offensive possessions, including second-chance points on offensive rebounds.

Illinois used this to its advantage, going on a key 10-1 run over nearly the next four minutes after a couple of timely three-pointers that put them ahead 65-61.

Kyndal Walker hit the final field goal of the game for Maryland at the 2:22 mark, which cut Illinois' lead down to one.

Gretchen Dolan hit both free throws to give Illinois a 71-68 lead with 1:05 left, after an unsuccessful possession by the Terps beforehand.

On the following possession, Garzon drew a foul that sent her to the line, where she made it a one-point deficit.

Illinois missed a layup on the ensuing possession, but Garzon threw a bad pass under the basket, turning the ball over and resulting in another intentional-foul situation.

However, Illinois came up empty on both free throw attempts, but Poffenbarger was unable to make the heavily contested layup attempt underneath the basket.

The Fighting Illini went up by three with 15 seconds, but a questionable illegal screen call resulted in a turnover by the Terps. But Maryland's defense on the inbound forced a traveling call, giving them one last chance to tie the game.

Poffenbarger set herself up for a potential game-tying three-pointer after a good pump fake, from the right side of the top of the key that rimmed out as time expired.

Garzon led Maryland with 17 points, and Poffenbarger had a balanced output, scoring 15 points, grabbing eight boards, and dishing out six assists. Oluchi Okananwa scored 12 points.

Mack only played 14 minutes due to her four fouls.

A 22-point performance from Berry Wallace guided Illinois.

Key Team Stats

  • Maryland shot 42% from the field, 8% from three, and 9-of-25 at the free throw line.
  • Illinois shot 38 % from the field, 36% from three, and made 20-of-23 total free throws.
  • The Terps outrebounded the Fighting Illini 39-30 and were plus 12 scoring points in the paint (42-28).
  • Maryland had more fouls, 22-18, and turnovers, 18-12.

Up Next:

The Terps return home on Sunday to host Indiana, celebrating their 20th anniversary of their 2006 National Championship, starting at 6 p.m.

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Jaden Golding
JADEN GOLDING

Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.

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