Maryland Women 's Basketball Fall in an Exhibition Game against No. 9 NC State
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The Maryland women's basketball team's regular season is a week away today. Yesterday, the No. 10 Terps got their first on-court action against another opponent, No. 9 NC State, at First Horizon Coliseum in The Bad Boy Mowers Series Exhibition. There are some familiar and new faces on this squad, and they fared well despite the 83-75 loss. Let's dive deeper into how the game went.
After transferring from Duke in the Spring, Guard Oluchi Okanawa made her debut for the Terps yesterday. Okanawa was Maryland's leading scorer with 21 points, shooting 2-for-5 from three, and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. While also adding seven rebounds, three steals, and a block.
Okanawa was a key factor in the Terps' response in the second quarter, as she scored 11 of her 21 points in the quarter to give them a two-point advantage going into halftime.
NC State quickly reclaimed the lead in the third quarter, going on a key 12-2 run that helped put them back ahead 55-49 with less than five minutes remaining in the quarter. However, by the end of the quarter, a three-pointer by senior Saylor Poffenbarger cut the Wolfpack's lead down to 63-61 entering the final quarter.
Poffenbarger (13 points, 13 rebounds & 5/9 fg) and freshman Addi Mack (15 points, four assists, & seven rebounds) were the other two Terps to finish in double figures scoring.
In the fourth, Mack and the newcomer, Slovenian guard freshman Lea Bartelme, were active on the offensive end for Maryland, helping them take a 73-67 lead with 6:33 left in the game.
Bartelme finished with nine points, three assists, two rebounds, and two steals in 24 minutes of action.
However, as they have all game, NC State responded with a key run to retake control. The Wolfpack outscored the Terps the rest of the way 16-2, riding to an eight-point victory. Maryland's offense fell out of rhythm in the final six minutes, with a couple of turnovers, fouls, and, ultimately, shots not falling their way.
There is no need to be concerned. Exhibition games work out kinks in game plans and your play, helping you prepare yourself as the game results start mattering come regular season.
Maryland scored more second-chance points (16-12) and points off turnovers (17-10).
One of the most promising parts of yesterday was this Terps squad's show of depth. They finished with 28 bench points and helped chip in to reclaim the lead at various points.
The Terps are back in action Thursday, hosting Point Park (PA) in the final exhibition contest before the regular season starts on Nov. 3rd against Loyola (MD) from the Xfinity Center.
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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.