No. 20 Maryland women’s basketball defeats No. 7 Notre Dame at buzzer, 74-72

Diamond Miller received the ball at the top of the key with seven seconds to go in the game, with the score tied at 72.

Faith Masonius set a screen, which put the senior guard in an iso look. Miller dribbled inside the three-point line, planted her left foot, and sent a shot towards the hoop.

The ball swished through the net as the buzzer sounded and the clock hit triple zeroes, and all the Terps ran to her to celebrate as she shushed the Notre Dame crowd..

Miller’s buzzer beater capped off a fantastic night from both her and the Terps, as No. 17 Maryland women’s basketball defeated No. 7 Notre Dame in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, 74-72.

“I just wanted to take the last shot, because I did not want them to get to another possession,” Miller said. “I got to my spot and then just shot it.”

Notre Dame forced multiple Maryland turnovers early on en route to a 7-0 lead, but the Terps responded well, and a Shayanne Sellers transition jumper made it 8-6 at the first timeout.

The sophomore guard started hot, as she scored 10 first quarter points on 4-5 shooting from the field. Sellers’ quickness gave Fighting Irish defenders trouble all night long.

Through Sellers’ dominance, the Terps led 16-13 at the end of the first quarter.

“I came out consciously looking to score, I knew I was a tough matchup for them,” Sellers said.

The second quarter was another swing of momentum, as the Terps opened up a six point lead before Notre Dame went on a 6-0 run to push ahead by one. 

Sophomore guard Sonia Citron was a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc in the first half, keeping the Fighting Irish in the game. On the Maryland side, only senior guard Lavender Briggs hit a three in the half, and the Terps as a team shot just 14% from three.

“Citron was that silent assassin for them, we did not have an answer for her,” coach Brenda Frese said.

The Maryland defense locked in for the closing stretch, as the Terps trailed by just one, 33-32, at halftime.

Both offenses found a rhythm in the third quarter. Notre Dame hit two threes within the first five minutes of the quarter, but Miller went off for six quick points in the third quarter.

Notre Dame stretched its lead to 55-51 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair as Notre Dame never stretched its lead beyond four. 

Sophomore guard Olivia Miles, the Fighting Irish’s leading scorer, entered foul trouble and sat out the majority of the quarter. Only when Maryland took the lead on a Sellers layup did Miles return to the game. 

“We know how invaluable [Miles] is, she sets that tone for them,” Frese said. “I thought that was a big X factor for us to be able to get her into foul trouble.”

Senior guard/forward Brinae Alexander hit a huge corner triple to keep the Terps close, and then knocked in another three to put Maryland ahead, 65-63.

“That is that SEC experience, those two threes were huge,” Frese said.

With two minutes left, senior guard Abby Meyers elevated from the right elbow, knocking in the shot to stretch Maryland’s lead back to four. 

Meyers missed her next opportunity from the same spot, which allowed for Miles to get out into transition. The star scooped in the basket on an and-one opportunity, and her free throw gave Notre Dame the lead with 48 seconds left.

But it was Miller who shined the brightest, as Frese drew up a play to get her on the left block. Miller spun back to her right and made the jumper to give Maryland the one point advantage.

Miller made one of two free throws with 18 seconds left, and a defensive breakdown gave Citron a wide open layup out of the timeout to tie the game with 15 seconds.

“She missed the free throw earlier and I told her to make the [game winner] because I was going to pass her the ball,” Sellers said laughing.

On the final possession, Miller got the ball. Miller got a screen from Masonius to draw the switch, and then hit a one-legged step back jumper to give the Terps a top ten upset win.

Maryland will look for similar success its next time out at home against Nebraska.