Big Ten Tournament: Lady Terps Take on Northwestern in Semis
The Maryland Terrapin women’s basketball team is still an undefeated 19-0 in Big Ten Tournament play and is getting set for their semifinal matchup with the Northwestern Wildcats Saturday at 7 pm. The Lady Terps are coming off of a 70-60 win against Michigan State where Lexie Brown led the way with a dominating 27 points. While the Lady Terps were physical on the boards and played stifling defense, they turned the ball over themselves 14 times.
Taking care of the basketball is always priority #1
Turning the ball over is never good because teams risk opportunities that they can capitalize upon. No matter how good a team is, taking care of the basketball should be priority number one. In addition to that, more players have to score in double figures. Lexie Brown cannot be the only to get on the board for more than ten points. I know it was her day to shine and she carried the team, but that can’t happen moving forward. It’s important that the wealth gets spread around.
Brown can’t be the only player in double figures
Looking at the team the Lady Terps will be facing, the 24th-ranked Northwestern Wildcats just came off of a 62-57 win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Four of the Wildcats’ starting five scored in double figures and junior guard Maggie Lyon scored 15 points, with 10 rebounds and three assists. She made all six of her free-throw attempts as well.
Another player the Lady Terps should watch out for is Nia Coffey. The 6’1 sophomore averages 15.7 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game, but she is a 61% free-throw shooter. The Lady Terps should take advantage of that. The Wildcats average 37.4 rebounds a game and 72.4 points per game, which proves they can score the basketball.
The Lady Terps need to play Northwestern physical on the boards and in the paint. They did that with Michigan State and they were able to cause turnovers and throw off their offensive flow. Why not follow the same formula?
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The Lady Terps also pressed the ball very well, and when teams apply pressure all the way up the court or are able to do so in a half-court set, that spells success. Maryland has done this very well all season. That’s one of the reasons why they are where they are; and as they say, defense wins championships.
I think this is going to be close one. I say it comes down to the last five minutes and to which offense can get hot when it matters most.
Final Score Prediction: