An exhibition game between an NCAA powerhouse and a Division II team might seem like a recipe for a lopsided score, but things were actually close for a while when Maryland took on Bluefield State last week in women's basketball.
Bluefield State jumped out to an early 3-2 lead, in fact. But Maryland was able to regroup to lead at halftime 74-17. The Terrapins shut out Bluefield State 72-0 after the break, leading to the final score of 146-17.
Brenda Frese, Maryland's coach — and formerly the Gophers coach — declared the game a "good tuneup" and a means for the Terrapins to get "rid of those jitters."
Maryland, which won the NCAA title in 2006 under Frese and reached back-to-back Final Fours in 2014-15, will certainly know exactly what to do if it has another triple-digit lead this season. It does help when your opponent goes 0-for-20 from the field after halftime, but maybe Frese just made smart adjustments?
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
