IOWA CITY, Iowa — Kaylene Smikle impressively scored 26 points to lead No. 8 Maryland to a 74-66 victory over the No. 23 Iowa team on Sunday. The Terrapins, boasting a perfect record of 14-0 and 4-0 in the Big Ten, established a significant lead during the first half, at one point ahead by 25 points. Although the Hawkeyes, who now stand at 12-3 and 2-2 in their conference, fought back and managed to close the gap to within five points on two occasions, they could not complete the comeback, with their last attempt resulting in a score of 71-66 with just 45 seconds remaining.

In addition to Smikle’s standout performance, Shyanne Sellers contributed 17 points, while Bri McDaniel added 13 points for Maryland. For Iowa, their leading scorer was Lucy Olsen, who netted 19 points, with Sydney Affolter contributing 12 points.

The game’s key takeaways highlight Maryland’s strong start this season, marking their best since 2011-12. They took an early lead by successfully sinking eight of their first eleven attempts from beyond the arc, setting a challenging tone for Iowa to match in the first half. On a day filled with emotions for the Iowa Hawkeyes, as they honored their former coach Lisa Bluder—who is the program’s all-time wins leader and recently retired—the team struggled to regain their footing after being outperformed by Maryland early on. The crowd of 14,998 was energized by the Iowa’s second-half surge, but their efforts ultimately fell short of completing the comeback.

A pivotal moment in the game occurred during the second quarter when Maryland went on a scoring spree. This run was initiated by three consecutive 3-pointers from Sellers, McDaniel, and Smikle within just 1 minute and 45 seconds, which allowed Maryland to pull ahead after Iowa had briefly narrowed the score.

In terms of key statistics, Maryland dominated the second quarter by outscoring Iowa 26-12, a period where the Hawkeyes managed to land only three field goals, with Lucy Olsen scoring nine of those points.

Looking ahead, the Maryland Terrapins will host No. 4 USC on Wednesday, while Iowa will face their third Big Ten road match of the season against Illinois on Thursday.