Terps guard Sarah Te-Biasu came up big in the extra period.
With seven seconds remaining in overtime, No. 12 Ohio State’s Madison Greene knotted the score at 90 apiece. With no timeouts remaining, the ball was in the hands of No. 19 Maryland women’s basketball senior guard Sarah Te-Biasu.
Te-Biasu rushed up the court and released a moving floater from 3-point range.
Swoosh.
Te-Biasu drained the shot with one second remaining to secure a 93-90 win Sunday at Xfinity Center in the Terps’ final game of the regular season.
“For the shot, in shoot-around, we do a competition with the half-court shot, and I made that shot,” Te-Biasu said. “It’s crazy because after that, today, you guys see I just made that shot and I was really happy and it felt good.”
In their first overtime game this year, the Terps got revenge on Ohio State, who had beat them earlier in the season.
The Terps fell down early in overtime, as the Buckeyes scored five consecutive points. The Terps came back, though, as Kaylene Smikle knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game with less than two minutes remaining.
Te-Biasu made another big layup — one that was overshadowed by the game-winner — to give the Terps the lead with 26 seconds remaining.
Smikle also made the biggest defensive play of her season late, forcing a jump ball and giving Maryland possession with 18 seconds left. Allie Kubek was then fouled and split a pair of free throws, giving Ohio State a chance to tie it.
“[Smikle] had her hand on her wrist. And then the ball went to the ground, and then we made a layup,” Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said on the Smikle forced jump ball. “I don’t know on what planet we come up with a jump ball.”
Maryland got a huge boost heading into postseason play with the No. 4-seed locked up in the Big Ten Tournament before Sunday’s game tipped off.
The Terps looked good early on, as they broke the press better than they have all season.
Amari DeBerry exploded in the first quarter, recording six points and an assist.
Maryland was strong on the boards and moved the ball efficiently, but struggled to put back offensive rebounds.
Ohio State went into halftime up by a point despite Maryland leading for over 16 minutes in the first half. It had a chance to tie it at the end of the half, but Shyanne Sellers airmailed a pass inside to Christina Dalce with two seconds remaining.
Sellers committed five of Maryland’s seven turnovers in the half but was strong otherwise.
The Terps shot decently from deep, going 5-of-12, but shot worse from the field at 13-of-34.
At the start of the second half, Sellers was carried off the court with an apparent injury, although she returned to a thunderous Xfinity Center.
Both teams were in severe foul trouble in the third quarter; Jaloni Cambridge and Cotie McMahon both had four fouls for Ohio State, while Mir McLean and Christina Dalce each had four fouls for Maryland.
Allie Kubek was strong in the paint Sunday, especially in the absence of Saylor Poffenbarger. She completed a tough and-1, prompting celebrations from the bench.
Kubek also forced a charge on Cambridge; it was the Ohio State guard’s fifth and final foul. With that play, as well as back-to-back Smikle 3-pointers, momentum completely shifted to Maryland.
The Buckeyes then scored three straight baskets, bringing a nine-point lead down to three in the fourth quarter. The Terps could not control their fouling tendencies, and the Buckeyes slowly inched closer.
Ohio State ultimately tied the game after knocking down a 3-pointer and forcing a turnover for a bucket. To make matters worse, Dalce fouled out with two minutes left after being called for a charge.
The Terps and Buckeyes traded baskets with under a minute remaining in regulation. Sellers had a chance to win the game, but her shot was blocked. A subsequent half-court heave by Ohio State was unsuccessful, paving the way for overtime heroics.
“It clearly was a game we were looking forward to ever since Jan. 23 when we felt like it was a game that we let slip away,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “But you saw through this game. I mean, this is what a great team looks like.”
Three things to know
1. The shot. After Xfinity Center was stunned last week — Maryland men’s basketball was beat by a half-court heave — Te-Biasu flipped the script Sunday and delivered on a last-second shot of her own.
“The plays that [the players] made — I mean, none more important than the last play there with Sarah [Te-Biasu],” Frese said.
2. Electricity. Xfinity Center brought a raucous environment that it hasn’t seen for a women’s game all season. The fans were ultimately rewarded with a huge overtime win.
“It means everything to be here and to play here. I mean, a lot of great teams walk through these doors,” Sellers said.
3. Postseason next. The Terps will be back in action Friday for the quarterfinal of the Big Ten Tournament — they secured a double-bye with a top-four seed.
“Clearly we want to be able to host, but if we just continue to separate ourselves in these kinds of wins,” Frese said. “It’s great momentum for us to secure the double-bye and the four-seed as we get ready for [Indianapolis].”