Maryland women’s basketball falls to top seeded South Carolina 71-67

Photo by Ashley Ray/Maryland Terrapins

No. 4-seed Maryland women’s basketball’s season was in jeopardy with 21 seconds remaining against No. 1-seed South Carolina.

After head coach Brenda Frese called a timeout, Shyanne Sellers inbounded the ball to Sarah Te-Biasu. The graduate student pitched the ball back to Sellers, looking to start Maryland’s offense, trailing 67-63. But the pass went straight through Sellers’ hands and out of bounds. 

The turnover effectively sealed the game as Maryland’s (25-8) season came to an end against South Carolina (33-3), falling 71-67 on Friday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala.

“Proud of this group. I thought they came out and showed they were fearless and unfazed and believed they could win this game,” Frese said. “I thought they competed as hard as they have for 40 minutes. We were resilient all season long.”

Similar to its game against Norfolk State, Maryland’s offense started slowly. The Terps committed a turnover just four seconds into its opening possession before missing their ensuing four shots. It took nearly four minutes before Maryland scored its first points.

While the Terps offense struggled, junior forward Chloe Kitts was South Carolina’s offense early on. The junior forward has averaged 10 points a game entering Friday’s game, reaching double figures in seven straight games. 

Kitts matched that total just six minutes into the game and accounted for the Gamecocks’ first 10 points.

Once Maryland shut down Kitts, guard MiLaysia Fulwiley became the focal point of the offense. The sophomore has been a key contributor off the bench for South Carolina, notching 11.8 points per game — the second-most on the team.

Fulwiley scored South Carolina’s final seven points of the opening quarter. She finished with a game-high 23 points while gathering five rebounds and dishing out three assists.

“She’s a crafty player,” forward Allie Kubek said. “We just wanted to limit her touches and kind of shadow her in transition. … [We] just played tough defense on her. She’s gonna make tough shots because she’s a good player.”

Despite their early struggles, the Terps trailed by one after the first quarter. 

After the Gamecocks scored three straight points to open the second quarter, the Terps exploited South Carolina’s physicality. Junior guard Kaylene Smikle knocked down a pair of free throws before Te-Biasu drilled Maryland’s first triple of the game. The basket pushed the Terps in front for the first time.

Free throws fueled the Terps’ offense in the second quarter, getting to the line five times in the period and knocking down 10 shots.

“We got to the free-throw line quite a bit in the first half, and then all of a sudden it changed in the second half,” Frese said. “The way we were attacking, getting to the rim and making the plays. For whatever reason, [we] weren’t able to get to the free-throw line. That’s a big piece of who we are.”

South Carolina dominated the glass. Maryland entered the game as one of the nation’s top rebounding teams but failed to limit South Carolina to just one shot per possession. The Gamecocks controlled that facet, gathering 10 offensive rebounds in the first half.

Kubek entered the NCAA Tournament, averaging less than 10 points per game. But in her last two games, the senior has averaged 17.5 points. That continued on Friday as Kubek scored 12 points, including a 3-point shot off the backboard. 

Despite Maryland opening up a 45-39 lead — its largest lead of the game — late in the third quarter, South Carolina regained the lead. The Gamecocks embarked on a 7-0 run, pushing the pace to beat the Terps’ strong half-court defense.

Turnovers plagued South Carolina, as the Gamecocks committed four turnovers in the final quarter. They finished the game with 18 turnovers, resulting in 18 points for Maryland.

But the Terps struggled to generate offense consistently otherwise. In her final game at Maryland, Sellers had one of her worst offensive outputs, tallying five turnovers and 10 points on an inefficient 3-of-11 from the field. Amid a 17-point outburst from Smikle, the Terps’ turnovers in crunch time eliminated any hopes they had of a comeback. 

Kubek also got into foul trouble, limiting the Terps from putting the game away, and later fouling out with just under six minutes remaining. South Carolina took advantage of Kubek’s absence, retaking the lead with four points in the paint and a 7-0 run.

The Gamecocks wouldn’t relinquish this advantage, holding the lead for the final 2:22 of the game and ending the Terps’ season.

“I’m super proud of this group, proud of the way we fought,” Sellers said. “We made it a great game … [and] I think we set the record straight to stop doubting Maryland again and again.”