The Terps won four straight games to close the regular season.
No. 19 Maryland women’s basketball ended its regular season on a high note Sunday afternoon, as it took down No. 12 Ohio State, 93-90, in an overtime thriller.
Here are three takeaways from the victory.
Maryland got its revenge in spectacular fashion
This wasn’t just another game on Maryland’s schedule, Frese and her team had this date circled ever since they lost to the Buckeyes on the road in late January.
The two teams have battled at the apex of Big Ten women’s basketball since Maryland joined the conference, and the Terps desperately wanted to avoid a regular season sweep.
“Clearly a game we were looking forward to ever since Jan. 23rd, when we felt like it was a game we let slip away,” Frese said.
They rose to the occasion in front of a crowd of over 9,000 that was deafening from the jump ball and got particularly loud for the nail biting finish. The game had all the feelings of an NCAA Tournament thriller.
“For us it’s personal,” Kaylene Smikle said. “We went on the road and got our only [road] loss, so we knew we had to come in here and play harder than them.”
Maryland looked like it was going to win the back-and-forth intense, physical battle when it built a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. But Ohio State fought its way back to force overtime, where it took a five-point lead early.
The Terps remained resilient, though, and tied the game with 10 seconds left when Sarah Te-Biasu stunned the Buckeyes with a 3-point floater to secure the victory.
“In shootaround we were doing a halfcourt competition, and today I made that shot,” Te-Biasu said. “I was happy, it felt really good.”
The Terps’ guards stepped up down the stretch
Maryland got major contributions from all of its starters in the victory, but in crunch time, the team leaned on its guard core to push it over the finish line.
Smikle, Te-Biasu and Shyanne Sellers combined for 62 points, 29 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime. At times, all three overmatched their defender and beat them off the dribble.
“It was fun trying to figure out who we wanted to play call for and having so many options,” Frese said. “That’s what you got to be able to have, to be able to get to the rim, with both teams being in the bonus.”
Smikle got hot in the fourth quarter after a somewhat quiet first three frames. At one point, she scored nine straight points for Maryland.
She also stepped up defensively in the game’s biggest moment, coming up with a massive block on Kennedy Cambridge that led to a jump ball. The result of the jump ball swung possession back to Maryland with less than 20 seconds to go in overtime.
“It felt electric,” Smikle said. “She wasn’t going to score on me.”
Sellers looked like her usual self, going 4-of-7 from deep and dishing out a game-high eight assists in what was her last regular season game at Xfinity Center.
“It means everything to be here and to play here,” Sellers said. “I’ve just enjoyed every moment of it. It’s surreal, but if this it, what a way to go out.”
Postseason outlook
Before Sunday’s action began at Xfinity Center, Maryland was already locked into the No. 4 seed for the impending Big Ten Tournament. This came courtesy of Michigan, who took down Illinois Sunday afternoon.
The Terps’ most likely opponent for their first tournament game will be the No. 5-seed Wolverines, barring an upset by Minnesota or Washington in the second round.
Maryland won its only regular season matchup with the Wolverines roughly two weeks ago at Xfinity Center in a competitive battle.
“I love where we’re at [heading into the postseason],” Frese said. “Where we’re playing collectively on both ends of the floor, hard for each other, and this is what we have to do with our limited numbers.”
Maryland’s win against Ohio State kept it alive for an outside shot at hosting the first rounds of the NCAA Tournament as a top-four seed.
Bracketology experts had the Terps projected on the border of a No. 5 and No. 6 seed before Sunday’s win. However, if Maryland can win at least two games in the Big Ten Tournament, it will likely put itself in the conversation for a No. 4 seed.
“I think our body of work speaks for itself,” Frese said. “Five wins over ranked teams, 10-1 on the road, 13-5 in the toughest conference in the country, and we’ll see what the future looks like. Clearly we want to be able to host.”
It would be Maryland’s first time hosting an NCAA Tournament contest in two years.