Yarden Garzon reached a new Terrapin milestone on Sunday.
The guard recorded 16 points in Maryland’s 84-62 win against George Mason. Garzon reached the season-best milestone on her 22nd birthday, celebrating alongside sophomore Ava McKennie, both Terrapins born on Nov. 23.
On the day overall, Garzon recorded six field goals, including two from the three-point line. She collected nine rebounds, an assist, a steal and continued her 100% free throw shooting percentage, picking up two more against George Mason.
Garzon heated up offensively since Maryland played Georgetown on Nov. 9. She raised her field goal percentage by 19 points in the last four games compared to her first three, increasing it to 46% in that span.
Garzon also surpassed her most rebounds in a game with Maryland, recording seven defensive rebounds on her way to nine total. She previously peaked at eight against Georgetown.
In her postgame interview, head coach Brenda Frese credited Garzon for helping the team battle back on both sides of the ball against George Mason.
“It’s huge, I think, when Yarden really impacts us there. When you get that kind of rebounding as well as being able to spread the floor with two players that can pass and can extend the range to the three-point line, I love being able to see it. It’s who we’ve got to continue to be,” Frese said.
Garzon’s leadership has emerged early as she continues to remain durable on the court. She leads Maryland in minutes per game at 27.4 and only one other Big Ten player has played in seven games with a higher average. Garzon played 37 minutes against George Mason.
The unpredictability of Maryland’s non-conference games has affected the entire roster’s counting stats so far. Garzon has a lower point total so far this year, but she has passed the ball more than she did as an All-Big Ten second-team player last year.
Garzon’s 3.3 assists per game already lead among all Terp players. She is tied for the 14th most in the Big Ten. Her 23 assists in Maryland’s first seven games already surpassed her first seven games of the 2024 season by nine.
Mitzpeh spoke to Garzon on Thursday, following Maryland’s 95-49 win against Bethune-Cookman. She described how integrated she felt with Maryland’s team culture and offensive game plan.
“I feel like that’s what is special about this team. The depth we have and the fun we have on the court together, playing for each other. I feel like [against Bethune-Cookman] we tried to play for each other a little bit more and it showed up,” Garzon said.
Coach Frese recently challenged Garzon to balance out her assisting and scoring opportunities. In quotes to the Washington Post last week, Frese said she wanted to see her take more of her own shots. Garzon took the challenge in stride and now has four games with double-digit points this season.
“I feel like she’s just trying to make me a better basketball player. Sometimes, I overthink about my teammates and how I can get the ball to them that I forget that I’m able to shoot the ball too. So just doing that. I’m trying to trust the process and trust her,” Garzon said.
Garzon heated up in the last week, scoring 28 points across her last two games. She has a career average of 13.6 points per game in December and has increased her total points in each season.
Maryland women’s basketball will play its next games in Puerto Rico this week in the Discover Puerto Rico Classic. They will face No. 20 Kentucky on Nov. 26 and Hofstra on Nov. 27.
