On Friday, Nov. 12, the Villanova women’s basketball team lost their second straight game to open the season, falling at the University of Maryland, 88-67. The #4 Maryland Terrapins now have a record of 2-0, while the Wildcats are now 0-2. 

The Wildcats were able to slow down the Terrapins from the start and were able to match them in the first quarter. The Wildcats won the jump ball which led to an open layup by graduate forward Briana Herlihy. On their next possession, junior guard Brooke Mullin hit a three to give the Wildcats the lead again. The Wildcats can credit sophomore forward Lior Garzon for keeping them in the game early, as she was able to drain a three after the media timeout as well as a buzzer-beating three to end the first quarter with a score of 21-20 Maryland. 

When the second quarter started, the tides turned in the favor of the Terrapins, who went on a 10-0 run over four minutes. With just under four minutes left in the second quarter, the Terrapins had secured a 36-23 lead. The Terrapins relied on sophomore forward Angel Reese, who had a game-high of 17 points at the half, and scored four of those ten points. The Wildcats responded with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Bella Runyan and another from Herlihy, allowing the Wildcats to get within single digits of the Terrapins. However, Maryland pulled away again. Before the end of the quarter, junior forward Maddy Siegrist made two layups to bring Villanova into halftime with a score of 47-33 Maryland. 

At the start of the third quarter, Herlihy scored four quick points for Villanova, but the Terrapins soonly countered with an 11 point run to give themselves a 59-37 lead. During this run, Maryland’s Mimi Collins scored six out of the 11 points. After the media timeout, the Terrapins continued on their run by scoring the next nine points. The Wildcats finally stopped the run with a three-pointer by freshman guard Lucy Olsen. Another freshman guard, Kaitlyn Orihel, gave the Wildcats two points with a jump shot that was followed by a three-pointer from Mullin, ending the third quarter with a score of 73-45 Maryland.

In the fourth quarter, Garzon led the team in three-pointers as the Wildcats scored 22 points. She finished with 15 points for the Wildcats and was 5-7 from the floor. Orihel scored four of the Wildcat’s final six points. In addition, freshman guard Zanai Jones was able to score her first career points as a Wildcat in the fourth quarter when she made a pair of free throws. The Wildcats only allowed the Terrapins to score 15 points in the fourth, to make the final 88-67 Maryland. 

On Saturday, Nov. 20, the Wildcats return to Philadelphia to face off against the Saint Joseph University Hawks. The last time the Wildcats faced the Hawks was on Dec. 7, 2019 when they won 60-44. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 P.M.