COLLEGE PARK, Md. – – Brinae Alexander and Lavender Briggs were starters in the Southeastern Conference before switching in the offseason to shore up a depleted Maryland team, and they’ve largely come off the bench for the Terps.
Against strong offense from Caitlin Clark and Iowa, Alexander and Briggs showed just how deep — and dangerous — coach Brenda Frese’s team can be.
Alexander posted a season-high 24 points and tied a career-best with six 3-pointers, Briggs added a season-high 19 points while bottled Clark, and No. 7 Maryland handed No. 6 Iowa its worst loss of the season, 96 -68 on Tuesday evening.
“Really proud of them both,” Frese said. “If you look at our bank points and the 43 bank points came from these two, that was absolutely the X factor. That’s why we dominated this game.”
The Hawkeyes’ loss secured the Big Ten regular-season title for No. 2 Indiana, who come to Iowa in Sunday’s regular-season finals for both teams.
Shyanne Sellers had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Terrapins (23-5, 14-3 Big Ten), the Iowa — the team with the highest goals and shooting in the country — in the worst-scoring season and Field goals held back percent (34.8%).
Briggs was Clark’s main defense, who had 18 points, their second-lowest game of the season. Gabbie Marshall hit five 3s and scored 15 points for the Hawkeyes (22-6, 14-3).
“We really tried to take Caitlin out of the game. We played 40 minutes under pressure. I chased her all over the place and picked her up from all over the place,” Briggs said. “It was really just my focus to force her to the right because she likes to do everything to the left.”
Maryland has won five straight games since falling 96-82 in Iowa on Feb. 2, a game in which Clark scored 42 points.
“You denied her, right?” said Iowa coach Lisa Bluder. “They guarded her all the time, that was great. They did really well. That was really the best thing we’ve seen all year.”
Alexander and Briggs, both reserves, were so dominant that Maryland didn’t need much from leading scorer Diamond Miller, who caught her second foul early in the second quarter and played just 8 minutes in the first half.
“I wanted to choke her, although I would never do that. I love Diamond,” Frese said. “I was waiting to see if we would bring them back in and in the second quarter their teammates just took over.”
Maryland took control with a 22-2 run in the second, a burst that included three 3s from Alexander, and led by as much as 30 points in the fourth.
“When I started chopping it down I got hot, the basket just felt so open like whatever I vomited was going into it,” Alexander said.
Miller came into the game late and finished the race with 16 points.
The Terrapins held the Hawkeyes to 30.3% shooting overall and 20% (4 of 20) from 3-point range in the first half, including an airball from Clark that the Maryland collegiate division used them for the rest of the game mocked. She didn’t make another 3 until the fourth quarter. Maryland also made Monika Czinano a non-factor, keeping her at four points.
Maryland shot 47.9% overall and 53.8% (14 of 26) from 3-point range.
BIG PICTURE
Clark has never won at Xfinity Center, where she had a career-best nine 3-pointers two years ago as a freshman.
The Terps have won 10-of-11 overall and would finish second in the league if Indiana wins on Sunday. Maryland improved to 11-5 all-time against Iowa and 6-0 at home. The Terps are 11-2 at home this season and haven’t lost at College Park since Nebraska beat them on Dec. 4.
Veterans return
Clark, a junior who turned 21 in January, isn’t eligible for the WNBA draft until next year due to the league’s age requirements. Two key members of their supporting cast, Marshall and Kate Martin, announced this week that they would be returning to play their fifth season for the Hawkeyes.
NEXT
Iowa: hosts No. 2 Indiana on Sunday.
Maryland: On Friday night in State No. 16 Ohio.
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