Preview no. 8 in Maryland women’s basketball vs. no. 7 in Texas

For months, no. 8 Maryland women’s basketball and its fans circle the back half of January as the toughest stretch of the year.

It has arrived, but now Maryland will likely face it without one of its most important players in Bri McDaniel. She injured her right knee in the team’s win against Minnesota on Tuesday.

The stretch begins Monday with Texas no. 7 in the Coretta Scott King Classic in Newark, New Jersey.

The game starts at 5:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on FOX.

No. 7 Texas Longhorns (17-2, 4-1 SEC)

2023-24 record: 33-5, 14-4 Big 12

The Longhorns have battled through a stretch of a schedule en route to a 17-2 record, with their losses coming against No. 2 South Carolina and no. 3 Notre Dame. Texas lost to the Fighting Irish in overtime. The Longhorns have three wins over ranked teams: no. 12 Oklahoma, no. 19 Alabama and no. 20 West Virginia.

Head coach Vic Schäfer is in his 20th season at the helm.

Players to watch

Madison Booker, sophomore forward, 6-foot-1, no. 35 — Booker is one of the country’s best players. She moves like a small guard despite standing at 6-foot-1, and became the first freshman ever to win Big 12 Player of the Year last year. She has picked up where she left off this year, averaging more than 15 points per game. game on more than 48% shooting from the field and from deep.

Taylor Jones, senior center, 6-foot-5, no. 44 — As she often is, Christina Dalce will be given an extremely tough task on both ends of the floor, matching up with Jones. Jones is extremely efficient around the rim, averaging 11.2 points per game. game on 63.6% shooting from the field. She’s also an elite rim protector, amassing 30 blocks through Texas’ first 19 games. However, Dalce appears to have the rebounding edge as Jones is averaging just 6.4 boards per game. game.

Rori Harmon, senior guard, 5-foot-6, no. 3 — Harmon runs the show for Texas and is just outside the nation’s top 10 in assists per game at 6.1. She sets the table for Booker and Jones exceptionally well while also being a scoring threat herself averaging 10.7 points per game.

Strength

Offensive depth. Texas can hurt teams in so many ways on the offensive end, which has helped them to the nation’s seventh-best scoring offense and second-best scoring margin. They have five players who average more than eight points a game and at least three more who are capable of playing a big game on any given day.

Weakness

Three-point shooting. Texas is second to last in the SEC in 3-point shooting, hitting less than 31% of its 11.6 attempts per game. match. By comparison, Maryland is shooting more than 35% from downtown on 17.5 attempts per game. game. If the Terps can get Saylor Poffenbarger or Kaylene Smikle to go from deep, that could be a big advantage.

Three things to see

1. Rotation without McDaniel. After McDaniel went down in Tuesday’s game against Minnesota, Frese shortened his rotation to just seven players and leaned more heavily on Mir McLean. Playing just seven players over an entire game is another challenge, so it will be interesting to see if Frese gives more opportunities to Ava McKennie, who looks to be the next woman.

2. Change of pace. The matchup with Texas will be Maryland’s first non-conference game in more than a month. The Terps have grown accustomed to the gritty, physical style of the Big Ten, so the transition to combating Texas’ high-octane offense will be an interesting one.

3. The magic of Shyanne Sellers. As Maryland has hit the toughest stretch of its season, Sellers has risen to the occasion and has been playing his best basketball and looking like an All-American. Without McDaniel, Sellers’ success could be a deciding factor in Newark.