Takeaways from No. 9 Maryland women’s basketball’s tight loss at No. 6 Indiana

Halfway by means of the fourth quarter, No. 9 Maryland girls’s basketball and No. 6 Indiana have been deadlocked at 50.

A bit over a minute later, Maryland trailed 55-50. With 4 minutes to go, Indiana senior guard Grace Berger lulled her defender to sleep earlier than draining a mid-range jumper to cap off a 7-0 run. The Hoosiers wouldn’t look again, as they executed down the stretch to come back away with a 68-61 victory.

The Terps — now 13-4 general and 4-2 in Large Ten play — dropped their first true highway sport of the season and can shortly flip the web page with Rutgers coming to the XFINITY Heart on Jan. 15.

Listed below are three takeaways from Thursday night time’s top-10 showdown.

Diamond Miller began gradual however completed sturdy.

When Maryland is on the schedule, the opposing group sometimes devises a detail-oriented plan to restrict senior guard Diamond Miller. The New Jersey native is fourth within the Large Ten with 18.8 factors per sport and has proven why many contemplate her a possible lottery choose on this yr’s WNBA Draft.

Within the first half of motion, Miller struggled to generate any offense, as she solely recorded three factors on 1-for-4 taking pictures from the sector.

The star guard missed routine layups, turned the ball over at an alarming charge and struggled to determine a rhythm. Whereas she credit Indiana’s protection for its efficiency, Miller is aware of she should look to determine her offense early and infrequently in a battle like Thursday’s.

“They performed nice protection, they have been sagging off, and it took a minute for me to regulate to that. I simply gotta come higher and be extra targeted,” Miller stated.

The second half was a special story for the 6-foot-3 guard, as she started to seek out her footing within the scoring division.

Miller scored 16 factors within the second half, with 12 coming within the fourth quarter of a nip and tuck contest. Her aggressiveness allowed her to get to the free-throw line, as she completed 7-for-8 within the closing 20 minutes of play.

Regardless of Miller’s gradual begin, Maryland remained within the sport, which was tied with underneath 5 minutes remaining.

“I began too late and I would like to indicate up for these kind of video games, however on the finish of the day we’ve received to be taught from this one and this one hurts [to lose],” Miller stated

With a participant as gifted as Miller, she is aware of that her skill to attain early is paramount to defeat among the prime groups within the convention. Miller and the Terps will hope to make use of this sport as a studying instrument to propel them to key victories in the course of the the rest of the season.

Indiana’s balanced scoring created an array of issues for Maryland.

Indiana displayed why it is without doubt one of the finest groups within the nation, because it had 4 gamers rating in double figures.

If a group receives a number of contributions, it solely will increase the problem of the opposing protection honing in on one explicit participant.

“They’ve so many weapons and also you take a look at the 4 gamers in double figures,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese stated. “You’ve got Mackenzie Holmes that you just’re attempting to protect and All-American Grace Berger so that you’re type of selecting and selecting who you’ll be able to guard. Credit score to them, they made some massive performs.”

Maryland’s roster doesn’t function the dimensions of earlier groups, so it’s anticipated that opposing groups will attempt to exploit its lack of inside presence.

Coming into the sport, Maryland knew it must take care of Indiana junior ahead Mackenzie Holmes. The star ahead is second within the Large Ten with 20.8 factors per sport and ranks fourth with 8.1 rebounds per contest. Holmes discovered success on drives to the basket and used fast put up strikes to evade Maryland’s double group.

With underneath 30 seconds expired within the second quarter, Indiana discovered Holmes with a noticeable measurement benefit on the block. Because the Terps despatched an additional defender, Holmes used a reverse pivot to create separation for a simple layup.

Holmes’ 15 factors marked one among 4 gamers in double figures for Indiana.

Indiana junior guard Sydney Parrish additionally made the Terps pay all night time, as she drained three of her seven 3-pointers for a complete of 18 factors. Parrish discovered holes within the Terps’ 2-3 zone protection and her teammates did an excellent job of delivering the ball in her taking pictures pocket.

“[Sydney] performed very well and shot the ball extraordinarily effectively. When an individual is sizzling like that, we’ve to do a greater job of not letting them proceed to get sizzling,” Miller stated.

Parrish wasn’t the one Hoosier to money in from behind the arc. Freshman guard Yarden Garzon totaled 11 factors, as she made 3-of-5 photographs from distance.

Indiana senior guard Grace Berger additionally chipped in 11 factors and made essential performs within the closing quarter to shut out the Terps.

Maryland struggled to stifle Indiana’s various offensive assault and should enhance on defending a number of weapons with a number of notable matchups remaining on the schedule.

Maryland struggled mightily to make photographs.

The Terps have been 6-0 on the highway heading into Meeting Corridor on Thursday night time. In its undefeated streak, Maryland had gained video games in a number of methods.

In its loss to Indiana, Maryland recorded a troubling 37% from the sector, its lowest output in a sport away from XFINITY Heart. Maryland couldn’t throw a rock within the ocean, because it went 21-for-57 from the sector and 6-for-18 from 3-point vary.

A few of Maryland’s key contributors struggled to persistently make photographs, as they missed a number of routine layups and open leap photographs.

Senior guard Abby Meyers skilled nice problem making photographs — she solely had 9 factors — taking pictures 3-for-12 from the sector and 1-for-4 from three. Meyers by no means gave the impression to be comfy, as Indiana ran her off the 3-point line a number of instances and contested any shot that she tried.

Sophomore guard Shyanne Sellers’ latest sizzling streak abruptly ended Thursday, as she recorded 9 factors on 4-for-10 taking pictures from the sector. Sellers was greeted by Indiana defenders each time she drove to the basket, making it difficult for the guard to attain on the rim.

Regardless of lacking an abundance of photographs, Maryland remained within the sport going into the ultimate couple of minutes of play. The Terps fought again from deficits of 10 or extra, exhibiting they’re able to overcoming a large deficit towards a top-10 group.