On Friday at 6:30 PM PT on ESPN, #2 Stanford women’s basketball, the top seed in the Spokane region will take on #13 Maryland, the four seed, in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament in Spokane, Washington. Stanford defeated Maryland 86-68 in the Bahamas earlier this season over Thanksgiving break.
Last time out: On Sunday, Stanford defeated Kansas 91-65 in the second round of the tournament to close out their home regional. Stanford senior guard Lexie Hull scored a career-high 36 points.
RECAP: Lexie Hull’s career night leads (1) Stanford WBB past (8) Kansas
On Maryland: The Terps finished tied for 4th in the Big Ten, just half a game back of the top spot. They had one game postponed due to COVID that they never made up (at Illinois). They were ranked as high as #2 in the nation this season, back when Stanford beat them, so they have a ton of talent and potential.
Sophomore guard/forward Angel Reese (17.4 points & 10.7 rebounds) is the top player on this Terrapin team, but junior guard Ashley Owusu (14.4 points), junior guard Diamond Miller (12.7 points), graduate student forward Chloe Bibby (12.2 points), and graduate student guard Katie Benzan (10.8 points) also score in double figures on average. The Terps have a ton of depth and weapons that they can go to.
During the regular season, the Terps averaged 78.9 points per game on 44.0% shooting from the field, 36.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 76.0% shooting from the foul line. They averaged 39.2 rebounds, 15.7 assists, 9.2 steals, 3.2 blocks, and 12.9 turnovers per game. They also averaged a +4.6 rebound margin and a +5.1 turnover margin per game. Their opponents averaged 67.1 points per game on 42.5% shooting from the field, 34.5% shooting from 3-point range, and 72.7% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is take care of the ball. Maryland’s +5.1 turnover margin per game should make that point very clear to them. If Stanford cuts back on the turnovers and takes care of the rock, they should be just fine.
Secondly, Stanford needs to win the battle on the boards. Stanford averages a +9.1 rebound margin per game, so they should be able to win the battle on the glass, but even so, Maryland has shown that this is a strength of theirs as well. Whichever team has the better night inside will have an edge for sure.
Lastly, Stanford needs to make their threes. Stanford’s 3-point shooting has been a strength of theirs all year with Hannah Jump and Lexie Hull leading the way. I really think if Stanford is making it rain from deep, they’ll win this game.
Prediction: Stanford is the higher seed and they also beat Maryland earlier this year at a neutral site. This site should be more friendly to Stanford since it’s on the West Coast and the Hull twins are from Spokane. So if anything, they might even have a bit of a home court advantage. As a result, I got Stanford winning this game 86-70. I think Maryland will make this interesting, but Stanford will at worst pull away in the 4th quarter.
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