The swagger may not be back, but the Maryland women’s basketball team took a step toward regaining it Sunday afternoon.
Shay Doron scored 15 points and sophomore forward Marissa Coleman (St. John’s High) added 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists as No. 4 Maryland defeated Boston College, 71-39, in front of an announced crowd of 10,114 at Comcast Center. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for Maryland (22-3, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Maryland did most of its damage in the final 20 minutes of the game as the Terps outscored Boston College, 35-16, in the second half, including a 20-7 run over the first 10 minutes. Like in losses to No. 2 North Carolina and at Georgia Tech last week, Maryland turned the ball over more than coach Brenda Frese likes to see. However, it didn’t hurt them Sunday as the Terps scored 21 points off of 19 Eagles turnovers and out-rebounded them, 55-36.
“I really liked how we approached this game,” Frese said.
Boston College (11-12, 1-8) couldn’t find the basket in the second half as it missed 30 of 35 shots and shot just 23.4 percent for the game. Mickel Picco led the Eagles with 13 points.
“You can’t shoot 14 percent [in the second half] and expect to be in the game,” Boston College coach Cathy Inglese said.
Maryland started pulling away in the final nine minutes of the first half when the Terps reeled off 12 straight points, including eight from Doron. Langhorne capped the run with a layup on an assist from Doron, which gave Maryland a 28-14 lead with 4:36 left in the first half.
Boston College kept things interesting with a 9-3 spurt, including five from Picco that pulled the Eagles within 31-23 with 1:18 left before intermission. But, Maryland closed out the half with a 5-0 run, including a three-pointer by Doron with eight seconds left to extend the lead to 36-23 before halftime.
“Losing gave us a sense of urgency,” Maryland forward Laura Harper said. “We still have a target on our back by being national champions no matter how many losses we have.”
Maryland goes after its second win in a row at 7 p.m. Thursday when it hosts Virginia Tech (15-9, 4-4).
Turtle tails
» Boston College’s 39 points marks the fewest given up by Maryland since Jan. 24, 1994 when the Terps defeated Florida State, 81-39.
» Shay Doron and Laura Harper both now have 500 career rebounds. Doron had four rebounds Sunday and has 503 overall while Harper grabbed six for a career total of 500.
» For the 24th time in 25 games three or more Terps scored at least 10 points. Doron had 15 points, while Harper and Marissa Coleman each had 11.
