When junior guard Karlee McBride opened the game with a 3-point shot and sophomore guard Tyra Buss tacked on a jumper, IU grabbed its first taste of a lead against No. 5 Maryland.
It would be their only lead Saturday in College Park, Maryland. The Terrapins sparked an 11-0 run to take the early 13-5 lead, and they never looked back. The Hoosiers played on to lose 86-63.
“It was a really tough night for us tonight,” IU Assistant Coach Rhet Wierzba said. “Maryland is a really tough team, and they showed it tonight.”
Coming into the game, IU was riding a three-game win streak that featured victories against Rutgers and Illinois, but also the program’s first road win against a top-25 team in five years, as they defeated then-No. 20 Northwestern, 91-84.
Looking to add to the list, the Hoosiers jumped out to a quick lead, but relinquished it quickly. In fact, coming out of the first quarter, IU was already trailing 23-10, surrendering more points in the first quarter than it did against Rutgers in the entire first half Wednesday.
“Maryland is a really strong team,” Wierzba said. “They hit a lot of outside shots and jumped to a big lead that way. In the third quarter, they came in and started pounding inside. We didn’t respond as well as we’d like, but that’s why they’re No. 5 in the country. They’re a tough team.”
Coming out of halftime down 38-27, IU played its worst third quarter of the season — they were outscored 32-12 — when it needed its best. Throughout the game, the Hoosiers only shot 2-of-16 from 3-point range, their worst performance since losing at Purdue on Jan. 10.
“We didn’t make those shots that we normally make,” Wierzba said. “And it wasn’t just one person, it was a whole list of players.”
The list began with junior guard Alexis Gassion, who didn’t score a point until the second half and only totaled nine for the remainder of the contest. After hitting the first shot of the afternoon from 3-point range, McBride went cold from beyond the arc and missed her last six attempts.
Junior center Jenn Anderson also found struggles on the inside, facing 6-foot-4 senior center Malina Howard and 6-foot-3 center Brionna Jones. Anderson recorded just five points and six rebounds.
The Hoosiers shot 34.8 percent from the field while allowing Maryland, the Big Ten leader in scoring offense and defense, to shoot 53.1 percent.
Maryland's bench outscored IU's 47-14, a stat assisted by Maryland senior guard Brene Moseley, who tallied 16 points on 3-of-3 shooting from 3-point range. Senior forward Tierney Pfirman also posted double figures off the bench with 10 points.
“When a team has as many options as they do, we try to take it away early, and I thought we did on the inside, but then their perimeter players hit shots,” Wierzba said. “I thought our team played hard but missed some shots early and dug ourselves a hole that was too much to come back from.”
IU’s conference record dropped to 5-5 this season. The Hoosiers will return to Assembly Hall, where they have not lost this season, to play Iowa and Nebraska.
“We’ve played well at home this year,” Wierzba said. “Hopefully we come out and play well against Iowa. We have Nebraska on Sunday. Two tough games, but hopefully we can get a couple of wins and move up in the standings.”
