After landing a three seed in the NCAA Tournament, Brenda Frese has been stressing to her team that it’s just a number in front of their name. Shatori Walker Kimbrough said “Once the new season starts, everyone’s record is 0-0”.
No. 14 seed Bucknell came into College Park 27-5, winning their last 10 games, including the Patriot League title. Coach Aaron Roussell said “the games where we’ve tried to watch and see where they struggle, they’re really not struggling”.
Led by senior Brionna Jones, the Lady Terps showed that struggling really is not something they do as they ran past the Bison 103-61 on Friday afternoon.
In the first quarter, Maryland and Bucknell were tied at 7, when Frese called for a full court press. This press led to a 15-3 run ending the quarter, giving Maryland a 22-10 lead.
The second half was much of the same, allowing Frese to empty the bench and get rid of any “nerves” that the anxious freshman could have had. Giving the future stars of the program extended time in an NCAA Tournament game will go a long way.
Walker-Kimbrough led all scorers with 28 points, while Jones finished with 25 points and 10 boards after finished the first half with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
All 12 players dressed for the Lady Terps scored in this game, and only had five turnovers. Frese said they were joking about if it was “the lowest in school history”, which it could have been.
Bucknell had a wonderful moment for their three seniors Claire DeBoer, Megan McGurk, and Sune Swart.
Coming into this game Swart was tabbed by coach Roussell as one of the best “transformations” he has ever witnessed. After her season ended, she admitted she will evaluate any options she has at the next level of basketball.
Maryland will move on to play the winner of No. 6 seed West Virginia and No. 11 seed Elon on Sunday in College Park.