It was a tale of two halves in Maryland’s clash against Iowa State. The Terps dominated the first half and held a commanding lead at halftime.
But then the young Iowa State team found its groove in the second half. The Cyclones connected on seven three while freshman Audi Crooks had a career game. The center scored a game-high 40 points.
No. 10 Maryland women’s basketball blew a 20-point first half lead as No. 7 Iowa State pulled off the second largest comeback in the women’s NCAA tournament history led by Crooks overshadowing Allie Kubek’s career night. The Terps suffered their first loss in the First Round of the NCAA tournament since 2001 after falling to the Cyclones 93-86 in Palo Alto, California.
Iowa State will face the winner of No. 2 Stanford/No. 15 Norfolk State on Sunday.
“I just thought they were the more disciplined team in the second half, running through their actions on the offensive end and stayed out of foul trouble,” coach Brenda Frese said.
Maryland women’s basketball opened up the game hot, beating Iowa State at an area it specializes in — three-point shots.
The Cyclones entered the NCAA Tournament as the ninth-best 3-point shooting team in the country, making 37.5 percent of their shot attempts from beyond the arc, but it was the Terps that came out firing.
Maryland built up a 14-point lead in the first quarter after a barrage of early threes, as the Terps hit six of seven attempts from beyond the arc. Kubek entered Friday night’s game making just 13 of her 30 shots from beyond the arc but showcased her versatility, draining a trio of 3-pointers.
Faith Masonius continued her impressive play from the Big Ten Tournament. The graduate senior chipped in eight first-quarter points to add a second threat to Kubek early on.
Kubek continued her hot game into the second quarter. She hit two more three-pointers in the frame, contributing 19 first half points on six of six shooting — taking the spotlight away from Shyanne Sellers and Jakia Brown-Turner.
“The coaching staff and my teammates instill confidence in me every day and today I just felt hot so I just kept shooting them,” Kubek said. “My teammates found me open and every time I thought it was going to go in.”
Maryland held the Cyclones to just two made three-pointers on ten shots in the first half.
The Cyclones had the size advantage with their dominant center, Crooks. The freshman single handedly scored half of her team’s first half points, 18, and secured seven of the Cyclones 14 rebounds. No other player outside of Crooks scored more than five points in the first half.
Masonius finished the game with 14 points, her third straight game scoring in double figures.
Iowa State came out of halftime motivated, cutting its deficit to eight midway through the third quarter.
Even a timeout and the third quarter media timeout could not stop the bleeding. Iowa State drew fouls and took advantage at the free throw line.
The Cyclones shot 67.9% from the field in the second half compared to the Terps 34.2%.
“I continued to try to explain that in timeouts and at halftime that this is a three-point shooting team that we’ve got to be able to stay the course with our defense,” Frese said.
Yet, the Terps short bench could not keep up the defensive pressure from the first half.
Both Katie Joens and Crooks could not miss in the third, combining for 21 points on seven for seven shooting. The pair was perfect on five free throws.
Joens tied the game at 59 after a three-pointer bounced off the rim and through the hoop. Crooks continued her dominance, lifting the Cyclones their first lead since early first quarter action.
“It all comes back to defense,” Sellers, who finished the game with 19 points, said. “You can miss all the shots you want on offense but it comes down to how hard you want to play on defense.”
Kubek drained the Terps only two threes in the second half and finished the game with a career high of 29 points, ending her season on a high note.
The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 66 and the teams went back and forth, neither wanting their season to end. Crooks sealed the game with two late layups to ice the game and Iowa State hit its free throws to seal the game sending the Terps home in the First Round for the first time in the Frese era.
“We’re definitely going to be back for this tournament,” Kubek said.
