HARRISONBURG, Va. — In its first three games, all decisive wins, No. 4 Maryland has played well. On Sunday, it had its most complete game, dominating James Madison 81-45.
Chloe Bibby scored 19 points, Ashley Owusu added 14 and Angel Reese had 12 points and matched her career high with 14 rebounds.
The Terrapins (3-0) led throughout, racing to a 29-10 lead after the first quarter. They shot 12 for 16 from the field, with Owusu scoring 10.
“I just thought our mentality was right. We set the tone from the first quarter and never looked back,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “We were able to get so many different contributions on the offensive end. I thought it was our defense and our rebounding that I thought separated us.”
James Madison missed its eight 3-point attempts in the first half and was 1 for 18 in the game.
“I just think they we were better, and we weren’t ourselves,” Dukes coach Sean O’Regan said. “We were tentative. I don’t understand why.”
Maryland, which played without star junior guard Diamond Miller for the third straight game because of a sore right knee, suffered another key loss early in the third quarter when Owusu had to be helped off the court after she rolled her left ankle.
Even without Owusu, the Terrapins dominated James Madison (1-1), holding the Dukes scoreless for more than four minutes late in the third quarter and scoring 12 straight points. They led 68-36 after three.
Kiki Jefferson, who had a career-high 31 points in JMU’s opening win against Virginia, led the Dukes with 16 points.
BIG PICTURE
Maryland: Even without Reese having another big game — she had 23 points in a 88-67 victory over Villanova on Friday night — the Terrapins had no trouble with James Madison. After two more games against unranked opponents this week, Maryland faces three difficult teams: No. 7 Baylor, No. 5 North Carolina State and defending national champion, No. 3 Stanford.
James Madison: The Dukes failed to follow up after their impressive season-opening win against Virginia. They were never in this game and need a much better performance against Liberty on Thursday.
INJURY UPDATE
Frese said that with Maryland playing its first five games in 10 days, she didn’t want to push Owusu to return.
“Obviously, we’ll evaluate that. With the lead, we wanted to be smart,” Frese said. “We’ve got a lot of games coming up.”
FIRST QUARTER TELLS STORY
Both coaches thought the first quarter was vital.
“To punch first, 29-10 in that first quarter was a big, big difference,” Frese said. “That’s a phenomenal mindset with this team.”
O’Regan said: “We got smacked in the face and never recovered.”
STAT OF THE GAME
Maryland freshman guard Shyanne Sellers had 11 points in 29 minutes without committing a turnover. She credits her backcourt mate, Katie Benzan, a graduate student who played three years at Harvard and is in her second year at Maryland.
“I just listen to Katie,” Sellers said. “She knows what she’s talking about.”
STEPPING IN
With Miller out, and then Owusu for nearly half the game, Bibby knew her offense was needed.
“Not having Diamond, it’s not a challenge, but it’s something you have to be adapt to, and I think everyone has elevated their game,” Bibby said.
UP NEXT
Maryland: Hosts Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday.
James Madison: Visits Liberty on Thursday.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.