NCAAW: After B1G blow outs, Maryland is ready to battle Michigan

There is quite a bit to talk about when looking back on No. 14 Maryland’s (23-6, 11-6 Big Ten) last two games, even though they were expected blowout wins over teams near the bottom of the Big Ten.

The Terps defeated Purdue 99-66 last Sunday and Northwestern 79-57 on Wednesday. Each member of the rotation did something significant in at least one of the games. But, of course, I’m going to start by honoring the seniors.

Saylor Poffenbarger and Mir McLean hope their uplifting homecoming story ends with a deep tournament run

Redshirt senior Saylor Poffenbarger and graduate student Mir McLean played basketball against each other in high school, as both grew up in Maryland. They then overlapped at UConn. This is their second year together in College Park, with both finding joy in last season’s homecoming. They were part of a spirited cast of transfers that led the Terps on a Sweet 16 run.

Poffenbarger was actually given an offer by Frese when she was in seventh grade and immediately wanted to say yes before her parents advised her to let things play out.

They may not have started their careers with Maryland, and, actually, there were multiple stops before becoming Terrapins, with Poffenbarger playing at Arkansas and McLean at Virginia. But now, they couldn’t be more a part of the fabric of the all-time Terp family. They are the heart and soul of this year’s team.

Maryland celebrated senior day in their second-to-last home game, with Poffenbarger (11 points, 2-for-4 from 3, nine rebounds, four assists) and McLean (11 points, 5-for-8 from the field) playing key roles in the win over the Boilermakers. Poffenbarger, who has had the best horizontal impact on the box score of any Terp, added four more assists and three steals against the Wildcats. She also hauled in 13 rebounds, including the 1,000th of her career.

Back on Feb. 19, before senior day, Poffenbarger shared her thoughts on the moment:

I think just having a bye week, it allows the emotions to come a little earlier. I think just reflecting on my time here. Obviously my whole career, but at the same time being able to come (to Maryland) and finish here. I talk about it all the time, but it’s a full circle moment. So I’m excited to celebrate with Yarden (Garzon) and Mir … I think senior day is kind of fun to be able to reflect on the journey and reflect on (how) everybody’s journey is different.

There’s gonna be a lot of emotions. It’s kind of weird not being able to say I have a preseason next year (or that) I’ll have summer workouts. But I just try to stay present. … Just trying to take everything in and be super present.

Meanwhile, McLean’s increased role of late has coincided with Maryland’s six-game win streak. Here’s what head coach Brenda Frese said about the the senior-most collegian on Maryland’s roster, who has helped save the team’s season:

I really love where Mir is at. Just her journey through the course of these two years. Really this year the fact that she’s really stayed grounded and just has continued to put her head down and go to work. I think it’s the biggest example when you don’t worry about starting or what your minutes look like. And there were plenty of times when Mir was not playing as many minutes there early. And she’s just continued to get in the gym. And you see that. Every single thing of what we’ve needed—defensively, rebounding, offensively. I thought it was a thing of beauty where when Isi (Ozzy-Momodu) went down against Ohio State, we didn’t miss a beat. And that’s because of Mir. She was ready for the moment. She met the moment. She was already in great condition. You can see just her competitiveness.

And then Saylor spoke to her leadership. It’s been really neat to be able to see. That’s what you want to see, is that kind of growth. She used to kind of ramp things up in the past as a leader, because she is so competitive. But she’s learned how to use that voice in a calming, confident way that our team really follows.

Yarden Garzon is more than a stoic assassin

Just like with Poffenbarger and McLean, Frese wishes she had more time with Garzon, the third senior for Maryland, who is in her first year with the team after transferring from Indiana.

Garzon is the Terps’ second-best player, one of the best 3-point shooters in the country and someone who could be a star at the next level.

She often shows very little emotion while playing, but a picture that captured her celebrating the comeback win over Minnesota lets us know that emotion (and a lot of it) lies deep within her.

Frese provided an anecdote to paint a picture of what Garzon brings:

I joke with her that I feel like sometimes she’s really misunderstood. I know for myself, when we watched her at Indiana, we just saw, and most people see, this really serious, emotionless competitor on the court. And she’s anything but that off the court. A perfect example—she took a few players up to see (assistant) Coach Carley (Kuhns)’ daughter play, had a specific jersey (with) her number on. That’s who Yarden is. Not only do you get that side that all she wants to do is win, she doesn’t care about accolades, she’s gonna put her head down and go to work. But then there’s this whole other side of her, just how she walks into a room and makes everyone feel really important … I just really value (our) relationship in such a short amount of time.

Kyndal Walker got buckets

Kyndal Walker was the No. 35 recruit in the class of 2024 for a reason. Her ball-handling, speed and finishing have all been on display this year, her first after redshirting last year as a true freshman. And, while she’s not (yet) providing the same variety and volume of scoring as Addi Mack, her ability to run the Terp offense extremely well has made the two somewhat interchangeable at the point guard position, pushing Walker’s minutes per game up to 21.6 (fifth on the team).

Walker’s considerable impact on the team has lacked attention, but Maryland loses nothing in terms of offensive rhythm or defense when she’s on the floor; all she does is provide quality minutes, and she’s played a lot of them. Her efforts just don’t always show up in the scoring column.

Against Purdue, they did. She dropped a career-high 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Only leading scorer Oluchi Okananwa had a higher scoring output for the Terps. Walker followed that up with 10 points vs. Northwestern.

Walker has a 3-point shot that she hasn’t shown often at the college level. She has been taking her fair share of midrange attempts this year; if she can get more consistent with those and with 3s, the sky is the limit for her offensively. She also has the second-most made free throws on the team (65) and converts at 79.3 percent from the stripe.

Oluchi Okananwa did Oluchi Okananwa things

After scoring 23 in Maryland’s big win over Michigan State, Okananwa had gone three games without reaching 20. She’s been back to her dominant ways with her 11th and 12th 20-point games of the season coming against Purdue and Northwestern.

The 26 points that aided the trouncing of the Boilermakers came on an impressive 11-for-16 from the field, including 2-for-4 from long range. In dispatching the Wildcats, she was a still-very-good 11-for-20 from the floor (11-for-17 inside the arc) and had four steals to just one turnover, contributing to the Terps’ plus-15 turnover margin (21 forced to only six committed).

Maryland shot 3-for-21 from 3 against Northwestern, but Okananwa generated 25 points using her trademark defense, speed and smarts. She proved she can keep Maryland in any game in which they are not hitting their 3s.

Breanna Williams and Marya Boiko filled in admirably for Isi Ozzy-Momodu

Breanna Williams, known to her teammates as Monty, came to Maryland in the same recruiting class as Walker. Like Walker, she was in the Top 50 in the SportsCenter Next 100 (No. 45), and, like Walker, she has shown flashes of living up to her ranking.

Against Northwestern, she came up big in place of the Terps’ No. 1 post player Ozzy-Momodu (lower leg; day-to-day), with nine points on 3-of-5 from the field and 3-of-3 from the stripe. She is Maryland’s shortest post at 6-foot-2, but she’s also the one who stretches the floor the best as a 3-point threat. Look for her to be an offensive weapon in the years to come.

Williams was Frese’s choice for the Northwestern game, but it was Marya Boiko getting more minutes against Purdue. While she was held scoreless, Boiko made her presence felt with five blocks. Boiko, a true freshman and the tallest Terp at 6-foot-4, is the best free throw shooter of the Maryland bigs at 23-for-26 (88.5 percent). She also started the season shooting 10-for-16 (62.5 percent) from the field, and later went 5-for-5 against Hofstra.

As it has been all season long for the Terps, it was next woman up, and the team was able to comfortably take care of business twice without Ozzy-Momodu.

Addi Mack and Rainey Welson continued their hot 3-point shooting vs. Purdue

As I previously discussed, Mack broke a string of 11-straight misses from downtown with a 3-for-3 stretch against Ohio State. She followed that up with a 2-for-3 effort against the Boilermakers en route to 14 points.

Meanwhile, Rainey Welson went 3-for-4 for her best showing from beyond the arc since returning from a concussion that kept her out for four games—right when she was starting to become a prolific 3-point threat.

As a team, Maryland shot 12-for-24 from distance last Sunday. This was encouraging to see, though, as mentioned, a different method was required to defeat the Wildcats.

Maryland hopes to exact revenge for their 2025 Big Ten Tournament loss to Michigan

Last season, Maryland took a serious blow to their hope of hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament when they were upset by Michigan in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Big Ten Tournament.

The Terps ended up hosting anyway, but you can be sure that loss to the Wolverines will be on their minds when they travel to Ann Arbor to close their 2025-26 regular season on Saturday (2:30 p.m., FOX), especially since it came by 27 Points.

If you didn’t already know about then-Michigan freshmen Syla Swords and Olivia Olson before that game, they certainly introduced themselves, with Swords going for 22 points and six assists and Olson 20 points and five helpers to help stun Maryland. Olson was 3-for-4 from 3, while Swords was 3-for-6. This year, Olson has averaged 19.3 points and Swords 14.5 to guide the Wolverines to their current No. 8 ranking.

Michigan gave defending champion and undefeated No. 1 UConn a run for their money, only losing by three points, marking the Huskies’ smallest margin of victory this season. The Wolverines did not disappoint when faced with a similar challenge against No. 2 UCLA, again rallying late and only falling by three. They will be favored to beat Maryland, especially at home. But their resume also features a 12-point loss to unranked Washington and an 18-point loss to No. 9 Iowa. As I mentioned in my previous Terp update, Maryland believes they can win this game and wants the smoke.

The Terps have already clinched a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament and are aiming to secure a double bye, though they will need help to do so.

They were also the top No. 3 seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology; a victory over the Wolverines might push them up to the No. 2 line.

A win would have some very positive implications; it would also complete the sixth perfect February in Frese’s 24 years with the program, a factoid shared by Testudo Times’ Max Schaeffer.