Takeaways from No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball’s 89-76 loss to No. 19 Ohio State

No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball suffered its second loss of the season on Sunday, 89-76, to No. 19 Ohio State.

For the first time this season, the Terps were clearly the inferior group, and a blown 15-point first-half lead will leave head coach Brenda Frese searching for answers.

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Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s loss.

The Okananwa effect

Oluchi Okananwa led Maryland with 27 points on Sunday, but her impact was far greater than her scoring production.

She’s been Maryland’s best player this season on both sides of the ball. Maryland’s lone constant has been her effect on the team.

The Terps led by as much as 15 points in the first half, much to do with Okananwa’s production.

She came into the game needing nine points to reach 1,000 career points — she scored 10 points in the first quarter and 14 in the half.

“I’m extremely proud to be doing it in a Maryland jersey,” Okananwa said. “Takes me back to my freshman year, days coming in bright-eyed and wanting to play my hardest every possession of the court.”

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Then, she got into foul trouble.

With Okananwa on the bench, Ohio State went on a 15-8 run to end the first half and brought the game within two points.

“We punched first to start the game, but I thought they responded really well,” Frese said. “Flipped the script on us, and I thought the second quarter was impactful.”

Early in the second half, Okananwa picked up a third foul. She had to sit for parts of the second half. The Buckeyes took the lead at the end of the third and ran with it, not letting go of their momentum for the rest of the game.

Okananwa played only 30 minutes on Sunday, and the Terps are simply not as good without her on the court. In competitive Big Ten games, the Terps will need her to play between 35 and 40 minutes moving forward.

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“Not the outcome I would have hoped for in hitting my 1000 milestone, but I’ll take it and move on,” Okananwa said.

Outplayed for the first time

The Terps…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/takeaways-no-8-maryland-women-114500862.html

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Publish date : 2026-01-12 11:45:00

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