No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball rolls past Purdue, 99-66, on Senior Day

Written By Apo February 22, 2026 Add Comment

Mir McLean and Saylor Poffenbarger were born in Maryland and developed relationships with Brenda Frese as soon as it became clear they were potential Division I basketball players. For Poffenbarger, that was in middle school.

After both initially committing to UConn and playing at an intermediate school in between, their relationship came full circle on Sunday as they walked onto the court to receive their framed Maryland women’s basketball jerseys for senior day.

“I was proud of myself, I only had tears in the locker room,” Poffenbarger said. “Whenever you feel those emotions, it’s because it’s that important.”

Both Terps celebrated their day with productive outings as the No. 14 Terps rolled past Purdue, 99-66. McLean had 11 points, while Poffenbarger had 11 and nine rebounds.

“I think you see the chemistry in our locker room of just how everyone wanted to play,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “It was intentional to play for our seniors.”

Yarden Garzon, Maryland’s other senior, had a quiet shooting night, but she dished out seven assists, swinging the ball around the perimeter after she drew attention to herself.

The game opened with McLean lining up a mid range jumper from the elbow, but after that, Maryland’s seniors quickly took a back seat for the first quarter.

It became obvious that Purdue, one of the worst defensive teams in the conference, had no answers for the speed and handles of Oluchi Okananwa and Kyndal Walker in one-on-one situations.

“I know me and Oluchi try and be the energizers of the team,” Walker said. “I know that we kind of piggyback off of each other.”

Okananwa led all scorers with 26 points, while both guards found success getting past their defenders to attack the rim for some crafty finishes. Walker even stepped out for a rare 3-pointer and laced it.

Despite being completely overmatched defensively, the Boilermakers got off to a decent start playing through 6-foot-4 Lana McCarthy down low. The Terps scored 22 points in the opening quarter, but the Boilermakers almost kept pace, getting 17 of their own.

After McCarthy had to check out with two fouls, the wheels started to fall off for Purdue. Maryland continued to get whatever it wanted on offense as Poffenbarger found a foothold in the game. She scored 11 points in the second quarter, including two threes that were so pure the net barely reacted.

While the Terps were outclassing Purdue, the ball seemed to bounce Maryland’s way every time it needed it to.

Walker got out on the fast break to close the half but lost the ball — which bounced straight to Addi Mack.

Mack chucked up a prayer three with her body falling to the side and got a foul call with 0.4 seconds to go, extending Maryland’s lead before the break. The Terps were up 51-32 midway through a game they were thoroughly dominating.

Purdue needed a big change if it wanted any hope of a comeback in the second half, and it did not come. Instead, the second half turned into more of a showcase for the Terps, as different players took turns getting in their bag.

The lid finally came off the rim for Garzon, who knocked down two triples. Walker continued to use flashy moves to get to the rim and create space for midrange jumpers.

Mack also extended her scoring output into double digits, finishing layups through contact and knocking down a couple of 3-pointers. Nicole Fritea even checked into the game for the first time in weeks.

Maryland will be large favorites to reach six straight wins against another struggling opponent in Northwestern at home.

Three things to know

1. Isi Ozzy-Momodu was out. Frese said Ozzy-Momodu was considered day-to-day with a lower-leg injury heading into the game, and the Terps kept her out in a contest where they didn’t really need her. Her absence allowed McLean to get a start on her senior day.

2. Terps took care of the ball and shared it. Maryland’s offense was extremely efficient in picking apart Purdue. The Terps dished out 21 assists to 12 turnovers — with five of the 12 coming in the meaningless fourth quarter. That ratio is a stat that Frese harps on constantly when evaluating her team’s attack, and she should be pleased after this game.

“It always makes me happy when we have close to a two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio and we’re just getting more possessions,” Frese said.

3. Bench continues to excel. Maryland’s bench has played a crucial role in the team’s five-game winning streak. Despite being one player short, that didn’t change against Purdue. The Terps got 31 bench points, mostly from Walker and Mack.

from Testudo Times https://ift.tt/Alb2cSU