Thomas dominates, No. 8 Terps beat Terriers 110-53
A two-week break couldn't slow down Alyssa Thomas and the Maryland Terrapins.
Thomas scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added 10 assists for her second triple-double in three games and fourth of her career as Maryland posted its highest point total since 2006 and largest margin of victory this season with a 110-53 win over Wofford on Saturday in the Terrapin Classic semifinals.
''Often times, you see teams come out in this game and they're sluggish and really struggle to find their rhythm,'' said Maryland coach Brenda Frese of her squad, which had last beaten Delaware State on Dec. 14. ''And I thought we were really, really good.''
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough tied a career high with 17 points and hit a career-high four 3-pointers in the Terps' ninth straight victory, the last three of which have come by an average of 54 points.
And Tierney Pfirman and Brene Moseley each added 14 points, a career high for the former and a season high for the latter.
''The triple-double, my teammates, they make it so easy,'' said Thomas. ''They knock down open shots.''
Maryland will play College of Charleston on Sunday in the final before beginning ACC play next weekend at No. 10 North Carolina.
Jordan Frazier scored 19 points for Wofford (2-9), which has now lost the first five games of a seven-game stretch away from home.
She was the only player with more than five points for the Terriers, who have lost 17 straight road contests dating back to last December.
''I think our realistic goal was to just play hard,'' Frazier said. ''We came in expecting - not to lose - but that it was going to be a tough game. And I think we just wanted to execute our stuff and play good defense. We didn't always do that, as you can see, but that's what we wanted.''
Most defenses would've struggled to shut down a Maryland offense that shot 50 percent (9 of 18) from 3-point range and 62 percent (41 of 66) from the floor. The Terps also out-rebounded the Terriers 46-25.
Walker-Kimbrough, a freshman, bested her 3-point career mark by halftime to help Maryland effectively ensure victory by the break.
Her first 3 came in an early 10-0 run that pushed the lead to 18-5. She hit two more in a 9-1 spurt that stretched it to 35-17, and her last, off a kickout feed from Moseley, made it 56-28 to cap a 12-0 half-ending run.
''My teammates found me and the shots went in,'' Walker-Kimbrough explained.
It was more of the same after halftime, with Thomas hitting an inside basket and assisting on a pair of transition layups as the Terps stretched the lead beyond 40 at 70-30.
The Terps later pushed it to 50 when Sequoia Austin's 3-pointer made it 85-35, and Thomas got her key 10th assist inside the final two minutes with a feed to Pfirman, prompting a late substitution and a reality check for Wofford's worn-down defense.
''All of her points were discrete,'' Frazier said of Thomas. ''When she came out of the game and I saw how many points she scored, I was like, `I don't remember any of that.' She's pretty good.''
Maryland guard Lexie Brown missed Saturday's game to attend to family issues, but is expected to return to the team for Sunday's game.