COLLEGE PARK — The Maryland women’s basketball game against Purdue on Jan. 6 had to be postponed because of a leak in Xfinity Center’s roof. In the week since the leak has been fixed, and evidently, so has the Terps’ offense.
Maryland got a career-high 25 points from Bri McDaniel, shot 55.2% from the field and got back in the win column with an 88-66 victory Sunday over visiting Purdue in a Big Ten Conference game.
The victory comes after a disappointing 74-69 loss at Michigan State on Tuesday.
Maryland (11-4, 3-1 Big Ten) had three other players finish in double figures in Jakia Brown-Turner (18 points), Shyanne Sellers (12), and Lavender Briggs (11). McDaniel added seven assists, five rebounds and four steals in an all-around standout performance, while Brown-Turner’s 18 points were a season high.
After a slow start that resulted in an early four-point deficit, the Terps went on a 34-14 run spanning the second and third quarters and made nine straight shots to start the second. They were never seriously threatened down the stretch.
“It’s really good to be home again after three straight road games. I thought our execution of the game plan was really, really good,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “Defensively, the intensity was really good, and that started with Bri and her four steals.”
The win was Maryland’s 15th in the past 16 against the Boilermakers, which has won just two of the 19 meetings, and its 19th straight overall at home.
Purdue (9-6, 2-2) led until late in the first quarter when a jumper by McDaniel gave the Terps a 14-13 lead. Maryland took a 20-17 advantage into the second when it took control by going on a 17-5 run behind seven points from Brown-Turner and six from Sellers for a 37-22 lead less than four minutes in. Purdue managed to stay even for the rest of the half, but Maryland took a 44-31 lead into the break.
The Boilermakers answered with a 10-2 run to start the second half thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Madison Layden, but the Terps responded after a timeout with a 10-2 run of their own. McDaniel had eight of those points on two 3-pointers and a field goal for Maryland, which made 4 of 5 shots from beyond the arc in the frame.
The Terps continued to build their advantage throughout the third, even after Frese emptied her bench. The team even celebrated a milestone in the fourth quarter when Sellers became the 38th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
“Winning every quarter was really important,” Frese said. “It was also awesome to see Shyanne get her 1,000th point here at home in front of our fans.”
Another factor in the win was Maryland’s ability to take advantage of Purdue’s 19 turnovers, turning them into 25 points.
McDaniel said the long-range shots have been an area of focus for her.
“I’ve been working on it lately,” McDaniel, who finished 8-for-16 on the day with four 3-pointers. “I’ve been feeling a little hesitant with my 3-pointer, but they started falling for me.”
No. 17 Ohio State at Maryland
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Stream: Peacock