COLLEGE PARK, MD – Led by Shyanne Sellers’ season-high 27 points, No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball defeated No. 24 Minnesota, 99-92, on Tuesday at XFINITY Center. The Terps (16-1, 6-1 Big Ten) earned their fourth win over a ranked team this season, giving Brenda Frese 99 ranked victories as the Terps’ head coach. At 16-1, the Terps have equaled their best start to a season since 2018-19.
Neither team led by more than two possessions for the entire first half. Maryland was the first team to break away, as a second-chance layup by Mir McLean put it ahead 49-42 at 7:26 in the third. The Terps remained in front the rest of the quarter, led by 10 points each from Sellers and Allie Kubek, and the rest of the game. Maryland did this despite Bri McDaniel, its third-leading scorer, leaving the game with an injury in the first half.
Sellers reached her best performance of the season on 9-of-11 shooting. She also collected nine rebounds and dished out seven assists. The senior guard has scored 20 or more points for the third straight game for the first time in her career. It was her fourth 20-point game overall this season. She has also scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games.
We told you to watch and she showed out 🤩
Shyanne Sellers just dropped a season-high 27 points, nearing a triple-double with 9 rebounds and 7 assists 🔥
She was perfect from behind the arc and the free throw line – only missing two shots from the field 🤯@jerseymikes |… pic.twitter.com/bvNkdrmgs9
— Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) January 15, 2025
Kaylene Smikle chipped in 19 points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists. It was her 16th straight game scoring in double figures.
Kubek (17 points), McLean (nine points and six rebounds) and Sarah Te-Biasu (eight points and five assists) came off the bench and added strong performances. They combined for all 34 of Maryland’s bench points.
Maryland shot an impressive 10-of-22 (45%) from beyond the three-point line for the game, including 7-of-11 (64%) in the second half alone. It also shot a perfect 21-of-21 from the charity stripe. The mark from the free throw line broke the school record for most consecutive makes in a game, surpassing Maryland’s 18-of-18 mark against Purdue on Feb. 12, 2023.
Minnesota (16-2, 4-2 Big Ten) was led by Amaya Battle’s 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Its lone loss this season was at Nebraska on Dec. 8, 2024.
The Terps are now 15-1 in 16 all-time meetings with the Gophers, having won eight straight matchups. Frese was the head coach at Minnesota for one season (2001-02) before coming to College Park. She led the Gophers to a record of 24-8 and the NCAA Tournament Second Round and was named AP National Coach of the Year.
The Terps get the WIN 🙌🐢
No. 8 Maryland secures the dub over No. 25 Minnesota, 99-92!#NCAAWBB x @TerpsWBB pic.twitter.com/x1YD289Uby
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) January 15, 2025
Frese’s Take
“Great win for us to be able to get at home here as we open this stretch of games against four ranked teams and finish a really grueling stretch of travel with six games in less than two weeks. Minnesota is second in the country in points allowed, with only 51 points coming into tonight, so we knew they were going to be really good, battle and be physical [so] credit them. I thought they never gave up and played until the very end.”
From The Girls
“The coaches told me to shoot the ball today, like, let it fly,” Kubek said. “I feel like I’ve kind of been in a slump, so I’m just trying to get my confidence back. But my teammates and coaches know I can shoot the three, so them just letting me be able to feel it out helped a lot. I think that today I finally got it back.”
Breaking Down The Action
- The Terps trailed 13-11 at the first media timeout. Despite trailing, they made three straight shots from the floor at one point.
- Minnesota still led by two (19-17) at the end of the quarter.
- A jump shot by Shyanne Sellers at 7:04 gave the Terps a 24-23 lead. Sellers then pick-pocketed a Gopher and outletted a pass to Saylor Pofffenbarger, who finished a layup.
- Kaylene Smikle scored a buzzer-beater layup off a bounce pass from Sarah Te-Biasu, and the Terps went into the locker room with a 42-37 advantage. Neither team led by more than two possessions for the entire first half.
- Maryland was the first team to break away, as a second-chance layup by Mir McLean put it ahead 49-42 at 7:26 in the third. It was the first lead by more than two possessions in the game.
- The Terps led 71-60 entering the final frame after scoring 29 points in the third. Allie Kubek and Sellers each had 10 points in the period to lead Maryland.
- Maryland led the rest of the way despite Minnesota sparking a 16-0 run. It earned its fourth win over a ranked team this season.
The Terps put up 25 points in the second quarter 💥#B1GWBBall x @TerpsWBB pic.twitter.com/W1rOtAtS3y
— Big Ten Women’s Basketball (@B1Gwbball) January 15, 2025
Double-Figure Factors
- Shyanne Sellers scored 27 points, recording her 82nd career game in double figures. She has scored double-figures in 15 games this season and 13 games in a row.
- Kaylene Smikle scored 19 points, her 54th career double-figure game. This was her 16th consecutive game netting double-digit points as a Terp.
- Allie Kubek scored 17 points and earned her 58th career game in double figures. She has scored in double-figures 10 times this season.
Sellers On The Charts
- Shyanne Sellers moved to 18th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1485. She passed Marché Strickland, with 1,450 from 1999-02. Next on the list is Deedee Warley (1,512 from 1999-02).
- The point guard is seventh on the all-time assists list, having 480 in her career. Next on the list is Anjalé Barrett (486 from 2008-12).
A new season-high for @shyannesellers3 🔥🥽
She’s at 27 tonight! pic.twitter.com/fbvcV3jW5x
— Maryland Women’s Basketball (@TerpsWBB) January 15, 2025
Home Sweet Home
- Maryland has been a dominant home team, especially over the last decade. The Terps are 616-142 all-time in College Park, dating back to the inaugural 1971-72 season.
- Maryland is 322-47 at home under Brenda Frese, whose first season in College Park was the inaugural season of XFINITY Center.
Frese Vs. Ranked Teams
- Since Brenda Frese took over in 2002-03, Maryland has had 99 wins over the Associated Press top 25 teams, including 11 in the 2014-15 season, which set a new school record.
- Maryland has four ranked wins this season. The other three were against No. 11 Duke, 85-80, on Nov. 10, No. 19 Michigan State, 72-66, on Dec. 29, and No. 23 Iowa, 74-66, on Jan. 5.
- The Terrapins have a record of 99-84 against ranked teams over the last 23 years, all under Frese. Twenty-seven of those wins were on the road, and 23 were at neutral sites.
Some pretty basketball from @TerpsWBB at the buzzer 😍#B1GWBBall on BTN 📺 pic.twitter.com/PcShKbrLy9
— Big Ten Women’s Basketball (@B1Gwbball) January 15, 2025
Series History
- The Terps own the series vs. Minnesota at 15-1 and have won eight straight.
- Most recently, they won 72-64 in Minneapolis on Jan. 3, 2024.
- Maryland head coach Brenda Frese was the head coach at Minnesota for one season (2001-02) before coming to College Park. She led the Gophers to a record of 24-8 and the NCAA Tournament Second Round and was named AP National Coach of the Year.
Numbers And Nuggets To Know
- 3: Shyanne Sellers scored 20 or more points in her third straight game.
- 4: This was Maryland’s fourth win over a ranked team this season.
- 8: Maryland is ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press poll.
- 13: Sellers has scored in double figures in 13 straight games.
- 15: The Terps own the series vs. Minnesota at 15-1 and have won eight straight.
- 16: Sellers scored 20 or more points for the 16th time in her career and the fourth time this season.
- 16: Kaylene Smikle has scored in double figures in 16 straight games.
- 17: The Terps have forced their opponent to commit double-digit turnovers in all 17 games this season.
- 27: Sellers scored a season-high 27 points.
- 72: The Terrapins are 73-5 over the last four seasons and 15-0 this season when leading at the half.
- 99: The Terps have 99 victories over ranked teams under head coach Brenda Frese.
- 100: Maryland shot a perfect 100% from the free throw line, a school record.
- 102: The Terps are 102-7 when they score 80 points or more over the last six seasons.
- 244: Since quarters started in women’s basketball in 2015-16, Maryland is now 244-3 when leading after three quarters.
- 598: This was Frese’s 598th victory as a head coach.
Up Next
- Maryland will compete in the Coretta Scott King Classic at the Prudential Center against No. 7 Texas on Jan. 20. The game will tip off at 5:30 p.m. and air on Fox.
