Takeaways from No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball’s loss to No. 6 Iowa

Coming into Thursday evening’s top-10 showdown, the sport between No. 8 Maryland girls’s basketball and No. 6 Iowa had garnered the thrill of a extremely aggressive sport between two Huge Ten elite applications.

Iowa star guard Caitlin Clark delivered one other charming efficiency with 42 factors, seven rebounds and eight assists at hand Maryland a 96-82 loss in entrance of a raucous crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Enviornment in Iowa Metropolis, Iowa.

Maryland sophomore guard Shyanne Sellers and senior guard Diamond Miller mixed for 53 factors and 12 rebounds, however had been unable to match the offensive electrical energy of an explosive Iowa group.

The Terps (18-5) dropped their convention report to 9-3 and can look to bounce again shortly with a Sunday afternoon matchup with No. 10 Ohio State at XFINITY Middle.

Let’s get into three takeaways from Thursday’s sport.

Maryland’s sluggish begin spelled doom on the highway.

Maryland’s spectacular highway report, now 9-2, contains marquee victories over then-No. 17 Baylor and then-No. 7 Notre Dame. The Terps’ journey to the Midwest was not like the remaining, as they confronted a group driving a formidable six-game successful streak.

Iowa’s residence enviornment steadily brings in a big crowd, and virtually any made bucket sends it right into a frenzy. Due to this, it was paramount for the Terps to get a superb begin on the highway, as they’re nonetheless constructing chemistry.

Maryland received out to a sluggish begin, recording a troubling 7-for-24 displaying from the sphere and lacking all 4 of its three-point makes an attempt.

“Uncharacteristic begin within the first quarter, which I believed clearly impacted the outcomes of the sport, and going 1-for-9 in that first quarter is de facto not like us,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese stated.

Heading into halftime, Maryland trailed 56-38 and had stretches of stagnant offensive motion.

The Terps began the second half robust, as they closed their deficit to 62-52 halfway via the third quarter. Maryland outscored Iowa 22-18 within the interval and started to construct a little bit momentum.

Sellers scored a career-high 26 factors and was efficient at utilizing her measurement benefit over 5-foot-7 guard Molly Davis.

Maryland gained the second half scoring battle 42-40, but it surely’s a tall activity to defeat a prime group on the highway following a sluggish begin.

“You noticed us making an attempt to change various things defensively and making an attempt to get into some type of rhythm. In transition, they crushed us in each space there,” Frese stated. “I’m happy with the second half, we gained the second half. You may’t spot a group like Iowa the quantity of factors that we allowed within the first half.”

The Terps’ begin made them unable to search out equal footing for the rest of the sport.

Caitlin Clark created a myriad of issues for the Terps’ protection.

Every time Iowa is on the schedule, consideration instantly shifts to the defensive sport plan to take care of Clark. The All-Huge Ten guard is a nightmare to defend, as she’s a three-level scorer with dynamic playmaking means.

Clark dazzled followers with a efficiency for the ages. She scored 42 factors, seven rebounds, and eight assists in a nationally-televised convention sport.

“I believe the distinction for her this yr is [that] she’s only a lot stronger. She’s much more sturdy. She’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of participant, a pleasure to observe play except you’re scouting and going towards her. She will be able to accomplish that many issues and had an enormous evening. She’s a particular participant,” Frese stated.

Clark was aggressive from the opening tip, utilizing a nasty crossover to drill a 30-foot 3-pointer for Iowa’s first factors of the night.

It wasn’t simply Clark’s scoring means that took heart stage, as her passing means was on full show all through the competition. With fewer than three minutes remaining within the first quarter, Clark and her teammates sprinted in transition, trying to find one other scoring alternative.

Clark used a hesitation dribble on the free-throw line earlier than delivering an ideal bounce go to graduate ahead Monika Cziano for a layup.

The nationwide participant of the yr candidate drained 6-of-11 pictures from behind the arc and appeared snug extending her vary past the 3-point line.

With lower than 9 minutes till halftime, Clark unleashed and made a 40-foot three-pointer regardless of being fouled within the course of.

Maryland struggled to stay glued to Clark, as she constantly created separation which led to a number of profitable drives to the rim. Clark is an issue in her personal proper, however defensive blunders will enhance the problem of contending with a participant of her caliber.

“I believe we might have been in her house a little bit bit extra. You’re making an attempt to protect her and she or he attracts numerous consideration. There was numerous miscommunication on protection [and] you must keep hooked up to that woman’s hip as a result of she’s able to going off for 40, identical to she did,” Sellers stated.

Clark had defenders on their heels your entire night, whether or not it’s with deep step-back 3-pointers or utilizing her ultra-tight deal with to get into the paint for finishes on the rim.

There aren’t many — or probably any — gamers remaining on Maryland’s schedule that may rating like Clark, however fairly frankly there aren’t many within the nation that may gentle up the scoreboard like she will.

The Terps struggled to get satisfactory offensive manufacturing outdoors of three gamers.

Maryland has a roster with a number of 1,000-point scorers, and it was going to wish its contributions to drag off the highway upset on Thursday evening.

The Terps had three gamers rating in double figures: Diamond Miller (27), Shyanne Sellers (26) and Abby Meyers (15). Exterior of these gamers, no different participant in a crimson Maryland uniform recorded greater than six factors.

Senior guard Lavender Briggs, a adorned switch from Florida, struggled to generate any offense, as she recorded solely two factors in 12 minutes of motion. Briggs regarded indecisive at instances and didn’t add a lot on the defensive finish.

There hasn’t been a extra constant contributor off the bench for Maryland greater than senior guard Brinae Alexander. The Vanderbilt switch is taking pictures a formidable 45.7% from three level vary and has recorded a number of video games of two plus 3-pointers. Thursday’s sport was one to neglect for Alexander, although, as she by no means gained her regular consolation and was unable to make any pictures from distance.

Maryland wanted all palms on deck within the scoring division to safe a victory, however its incapability to get a number of contributions performed a job in its destiny.

Fortunately for the Terps, they will’t dwell on their loss for lengthy, as No. 10 Ohio State involves city on Sunday. Maryland will want a rebound efficiency from your entire roster to select up its fifth top-25 victory of the season.