Oluchi Okananwa Scores 24 as No. 20 Maryland Beats George Mason 81-62 in Home Opener

COLLEGE PARK, Md. A week after giving top-ranked South Carolina everything it could handle in Paris, Maryland came home and took care of business. Oluchi Okananwa scored 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting, Addi Mack added 15 points and five assists without a turnover, and the No. 20 Terrapins pulled away from George Mason for an 81-62 win in their home opener on Sunday, Nov. 8, at XFINITY Center.

Maryland never trailed. The Terps evened their record at 1-1, and George Mason dropped to 2-1 after arriving in College Park unbeaten.

The result was never seriously in doubt after the first quarter, but the game was more interesting than the final margin suggests. George Mason won the second quarter, outrebounded Maryland and lived at the free throw line. What decided it was the other column of the box score: the Patriots turned the ball over 28 times. Here is the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and Maryland's recap (opens in a new tab).

A fast start, then a fight

Maryland jumped out quickly and owned the opening 10 minutes, 21-10. George Mason managed just 10 points in the period.

The second quarter belonged to the visitors. Madison Bob knocked down two 3-pointers in the period, George Mason kept getting to the line, and the Patriots won the quarter 19-14. Maryland went to the locker room ahead just 35-29, and a team that had rallied from 31 down at South Carolina a week earlier suddenly had a real game on its hands against a mid-major.

That is the part of the afternoon Brenda Frese's staff will want to study. The Patriots' trips to the foul line kept them in it, and a six-point cushion at the break was a fair reflection of how even the middle 10 minutes had been.

The third quarter swung it

Whatever was said at halftime worked. Maryland opened the third quarter with a 12-2 burst that pushed the lead to 47-31.

The Terps won the period 28-18, their best quarter of the day, and carried a 63-47 lead into the fourth. Maryland's own recap counted 27 points off turnovers, and the third quarter was when that pressure finally showed up on the scoreboard.

The fourth quarter was an 18-15 formality. George Mason kept working and kept getting to the line, but there was no more ground to make up against a team that had found its rhythm.

Okananwa was the difference

Okananwa was the most efficient scorer on the floor by a wide margin. The 24 points came in 24 minutes, on 9 of 13 from the field, 2 of 4 from 3-point range and 4 of 6 at the line. Okananwa also grabbed six rebounds, three of them on the offensive glass, and added two assists and two steals with just one turnover.

What made the performance stand out was how it fit the game. Okananwa made 7 of 9 shots inside the arc on a day when the rest of the Terps went 7 of 24 from 3-point range, which is exactly the type of production a team needs when the 3s are not falling.

Mack, who scored a career-high 35 against South Carolina in the opener, had a quieter but cleaner afternoon. The sophomore went 6 of 12 from the field and 3 of 6 from deep for 15 points, with five rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes and zero turnovers. Maryland named Mack to the Big Ten Player of the Week honor roll the next day, with the school noting a 25.0 scoring average through two games on 62.5 percent shooting.

Bri McDaniel rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 points and five rebounds on 4 of 9 shooting.

Bartelme did the dirty work

The most complete line off the bench belonged to Lea Bartelme. In 25 minutes, Bartelme scored eight points on 2 of 3 shooting, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, handed out four assists and collected five steals. Four of those rebounds came on the offensive end.

Bartelme was the engine of the pressure that broke the game open. Maryland finished with 10 steals as a team, and half of them belonged to Bartelme. Trinity Jones added three steals and two blocks in 17 minutes, and Marya Boiko blocked two shots off the bench.

Nunu Agara chipped in seven points and five rebounds, and Rainey Welson hit a pair of 3s for seven points. On paper the bench scoring actually favored George Mason, 22-19, but the defensive minutes from Maryland's reserves were the real story.

The Terps shot 29 of 72 overall, about 40 percent, and 9 of 28 from 3-point range. Those are not numbers that will beat many ranked opponents. Maryland had 17 assists on 29 baskets, which shows the ball was moving, but the shots simply did not fall at a high rate. Against George Mason it did not matter. Against the Big Ten, it will.

How George Mason stayed close, and why it did not last

Give the Patriots credit for the things they did well. George Mason won the rebounding battle 43-41 and grabbed 12 offensive boards. It went 22 of 28 at the free throw line, compared with Maryland's 14 of 19, and that eight-point edge at the stripe is the main reason the halftime score was close.

Anovia Sheals was excellent. In 20 minutes, Sheals scored 19 points on 5 of 7 shooting and a perfect 8 of 8 at the line. Mary Amoateng added 10 points, going 6 of 8 at the line, and Mary-Kate Tshibuabua had seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Madison Bob scored eight on two 3s, and Trinity Massenburg added seven off the bench.

The problem was everything else. George Mason shot 18 of 54 from the field, 33 percent, and 4 of 21 from 3-point range. And the turnovers were crushing. The Patriots gave the ball away 28 times, nearly double Maryland's 15, and three George Mason starters committed at least four apiece.

Summer Yancy, who came in as George Mason's leading scorer at 17.5 points a game according to ESPN, went scoreless on 0 of 4 shooting. Yancy did grab seven rebounds, but four turnovers summed up how hard Maryland made the afternoon for the Patriots' primary option.

What it means and what is next

Two games in, Maryland looks like a team still sorting out its shot selection but with a defensive identity it can lean on. Maryland's recap said the win was the program's fourth straight in a home opener, its 28th straight home win in nonconference play, and moved the Terps to 11-0 all-time against George Mason.

Context matters here. The opener in Paris was a 101-93 loss to the No. 1 team in the country in which, according to Maryland, the Terps trailed by 31 and cut it to six with four minutes left. Following that kind of emotional comeback with a business-like home win over a team that came in unbeaten is a sign of a group that is not going to dwell on near misses.

The bigger takeaway is that Maryland has two scorers who can carry it on different kinds of nights. Mack did it from deep against South Carolina. Okananwa did it inside against George Mason. If McDaniel and the rest of the rotation can become a steadier third option, the Terps have the pieces to climb in a Big Ten that, as of the Nov. 9 poll, had 10 ranked teams. Maryland stayed at No. 20 in that poll.

The Terps host Columbia at XFINITY Center on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. George Mason's next game is at Army on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

For more women's college basketball, catch up on Michigan's upset of UConn and Illinois' rout of Southern. For more on the Terps, visit our Maryland team page.

Sources: ESPN box score and matchup page, Maryland Athletics, AP.

Photo: Maryland Athletics.