Maryland routs Niagara as Brinae Alexander finds her range
Brinae Alexander sneaked away from her Niagara defender early in the third quarter Wednesday night and found some space on the left wing when the ball found its way to Bri McDaniel, just outside the paint. With her back to Alexander at the three-point line, McDaniel bounced a between-the-legs pass to Alexander, who quickly buried her fifth three-pointer.
The Maryland bench erupted. It was that kind of night for Alexander, who scored a career-high 29 points in just 21 minutes and set the tone in a wire-to-wire 114-44 victory at Xfinity Center. The 114 points were the most scored by the Terrapins since a 115-96 win against Arkansas three years ago to the day. The 70-point margin of victory was the widest since Maryland defeated Georgia State, 114-41, on Dec. 18, 2019.
“I was feeling really good at shoot-around and in warm-ups,” Alexander said. “I just was feeling on.”
Advertisement
Alexander had been in the midst of a lull when Maryland fans last saw her play in College Park. Known for her shooting, she slumped through single-digit scoring outings in four straight games. The sixth-year senior is known to put up points in bunches, but her shot just wasn’t going down.
Things began to turn around when she scored 13 points in the final game of the Cancún Challenge against Massachusetts.
She looked all the way back Wednesday, hitting all seven of her shots in the first half, including three from behind the arc. Then she opened the third quarter with a pair of threes, including the one off the between-the-legs pass from McDaniel. Then another. Her teammates on the bench were on their feet each time she let fly, exploding with cheers and laughter.
By the time it was over, she had shot 11 for 13 and added seven rebounds, five steals and three assists.
“I didn’t realize I was perfect from the floor until halftime,” Alexander said. “I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I haven’t missed a shot yet.’ I was just in a zone.”
Advertisement
McDaniel added: “I was like, ‘Girl, you better keep shooting that ball.’ ”
Playing in front of a home crowd of 5,064 may have had something to do with it.
“I do love playing at home,” Alexander said. “I always shoot well at home, so I was going in with high confidence. But, yeah, I did go through a little lull, and I just try to persevere, not think about it too much. So, yeah, I was like, ‘I probably needed this.’ ”
Added Coach Brenda Frese: “I felt like it was more that we weren’t finding her, to be honest. … She’s not going to be a player that is going to pull off ball screens and create shots for herself. She needs the others to be able to help her get those shots.”
The Terrapins (5-3) were never really tested, opening the game with a 9-0 run. They scored 28 consecutive points between the first and second quarters to lead 45-11 with just under seven minutes remaining until halftime.
Advertisement
McDaniel continued her strong play of late with 18 points (one shy of her career high) and a career-high five steals in the first start of her collegiate career. Freshman Riley Nelson scored a career-high 15 points, and Faith Masonius added a season-high 14. Shyanne Sellers had a career-high 11 assists to go with nine points.
“My teammates were looking for me, and that kind of had me going,” Nelson said.
The Purple Eagles (2-5) were lead by Alyssa Rossignol with 10 points off the bench.
Here’s what else to know about the Terps’ win:
Briggs out, McDaniel in
Lavender Briggs missed her first game and is expected to miss a few more after a lower-body injury that she suffered while in Mexico. McDaniel got her first career start in place of Briggs.
Chardon’s injury
Redshirt sophomore forward Emma Chardon went down in the third quarter and had to be helped off the court by two staff members, not putting any weight on her left leg on the way to the locker room. Frese couldn’t specify the injury after the game, but Chardon returned to the sideline on crutches. She missed all of last season with a torn meniscus suffered in the first game of the season.
Kubek starting
Forward Allie Kubek (12 points, four rebounds) made her fourth consecutive start. The change moved Masonius back to the bench in the sixth-woman role that she held last season. Kubek shined with 23 points and eight rebounds against Syracuse in the final game before the team left for Cancún and has been starting ever since.
“Her physicality — she gives us size,” Frese said of the adjustment. “She gives us a little low-post presence down there. And as she continues to get herself in better shape, I think she’ll be able to give us even more from a scoring and a rebounding end, which we’ve got to be able to have inside.”
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeAcH2QaGlyZ52Wv7q4wKebZqaZlrSivsBmmauhnpaybq3Lnq%2BappSav3A%3D