Late in the third quarter, Shyanne Sellers found a wide open Brinae Alexander in transition. Alexander drilled the three-pointer. Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff got called for a technical foul and Sellers hit four consecutive free throws as the Terps took a 19-point lead, its largest of the game.
No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball (19-12, 9-9 B1G) upset No. 1 Ohio State (25-5, 16-2 B1G), rolling to a 82-61 dominant win. Four players scored in double figures, led by Sellers scoring 25 points with 18 coming in the second half.
“You have to be consistent and we didn’t beat them just by a possession,” coach Brenda Frese said. “That was a game where we put our most complete 40 minute game together.”
Maryland secured its biggest win of the season and its first win against a ranked team this season. The dominant win boosts the Terps’ NCAA tournament resume.
Maryland’s role players stepped up against Illinois on Thursday and continued their effort against the Buckeyes. Faith Masonius was involved early and often. Masonius weaved her way to the basket and made three point-blank layups that allowed Maryland to keep pace with Ohio State early in the first quarter.
Masonius nearly recorded a double-double in just the first half, scoring 10 points and snagging eight first rebounds. The forward also grabbed three offensive rebounds.
The Terps came out firing in the second quarter and shot efficiently from after starting 0-5 from deep. Brinae Alexander connected on two three-pointers as Maryland mounted an 11-0 scoring run in the second quarter. The Terps took a 13 point lead following the burst.
Maryland put together the spurt without Bri McDaniel, who sat for the entire second quarter with two fouls.
Maryland contained Cotie McMahon and held her 1-9 from the field in the first half. McMahon missed her first eight shots. She also had a poor start from the free throw line just shooting 3-8 from the line before finishing with 12 points.
The Terps kept the pressure on in the second quarter and kept building on their lead. Shyanne Sellers gave Maryland an eight point lead at halftime with a jumper in the half’s final seconds.
Maryland out-rebounded the Buckeyes by 14 in the first half and scored eight second chance points.
Maryland faced more adversity early in the third with Ohio State trying to close the gap. McDaniel’s head slammed while falling to the ground after attempting the layup and remained down for several seconds. While the Terps survived the 4-on-5 possession, McDaniel got up holding her head and went back towards the tunnel but reentered the game a few minutes later.
Maryland’s small rotation stifled the Ohio State offense for much of the third quarter, going on a 21-5 run after the Buckeyes trimmed the Terps lead to three. Maryland took advantage of the Buckeyes inability to make shots going on a 9-0 run to grow their lead to 51-39. Brown-Turner and Masonius each converted big three-point plays.
“We really focused on our defense and it’s just about our defensive mentality, for us that leads to transition points and just feeds into our offense,” Alexander said.
Maryland grew its lead to almost 20-points late in the third putting together its second 9-0 run of the quarter boosted by McGuff’s technical. Alexander drew two charges that led to baskets on the offensive end as part of a dominant third quarter.
Maryland kept its foot on the gas during the fourth quarter and are peaking at the perfect time. That’s what Sellers said directly into the camera while dribbling out the ball in the Terps win before celebrating with her teammates.
“Tonight we got over that hump and I feel like we’re going to keep going and not look back,” Sellers said.
