No. 5 Maryland women’s basketball falls to No. 7 Iowa in Big Ten semifinals, 89-84

Abby Meyers faced up the hoop, coming off a Faith Masonius screen needing a three to potentially send the game to overtime now with less than ten seconds left in the game and her team down by three. 

The Maryland star pulled up, off balance after sprinting around the hoop as the ball arced through the air, with everyone in the arena holding their breath. 

But the ball clanked off the front of the rim and fell into the awaiting hands of McKenna Warnock, effectively icing the game with five seconds left.

No. 7 Iowa hung on for a gritty 89-84 win over No. 5 Maryland women’s basketball in the Big Ten semifinals on Saturday.

“It’s all I know,” Caitlin Clark said about her third straight trip to the Big Ten Championship game.

It became apparent that this would feel like a road game for the Terps before the game even started with Iowa colors becoming a dominating presence throughout the arena. 

As the first quarter progressed towards its halfway point, danger arose for the Terps when Clark hit her third three of the game already from the parking lot, having still not missed. Just like that, the Hawkeyes got a few stops defensively and were leading 21-9 after a commanding 10-0 run.

“This was a revenge game for us,” Marshall said. “We took that [previous game against Maryland] personal…so we came out locked in.”

To add insult to injury, sophomore guard Shyanne Sellers had to be escorted to the locker room after taking a hard fall while driving the lane, taking the Maryland floor general out for the remainder of the quarter.

However, after forcing Iowa into a few fouls to get into the bonus, Maryland settled things down, slowing down the game defensively to a pace much more suited to its strengths.

This helped keep the game within reach by the end of the first quarter, with Iowa holding a 26-18 lead.

To begin the second quarter, one very positive sign for the Terps was the return of Sellers, who they desperately needed to slow down the play of Clark.

With Sellers back on the floor, the Terps continued to chip at the lead in the second quarter. Their strong start was largely thanks to senior guard Abby Meyers, who scored eight of the Terps’ first ten points in the quarter.

But this didn’t last long as the Hawkeyes became a living flame from behind the arc. The Hawkeyes almost immediately knocked down three successive threes and put the Terps back into a 10-point hole, leading 38-28. 

Despite this, Maryland made it a game of runs, regaining its rhythm en route to an 8-0 response. The Terps cut the lead to four before the halfway point of the quarter. 

The game went back-and-forth the remainder of the quarter. The Terps cut down on what had been a 12-point Iowa lead but were unable to take the final step in getting out in front. 

At halftime, the Hawkeyes led 47-42.

Senior guard Gabbie Marshall was doing her best job to keep up with her teammate Clark throughout the first half, as both were 4-8 from three as the teams headed into the locker rooms.

As for Clark, she headed into half with 16 points, three rebounds and four assists, almost matching her point total (18) in the entirety of Iowa’s last game against Maryland. 

The Terps couldn’t seem to catch a break early in the third quarter, as yet again they were faced with a possible detrimental injury, this time to senior guard Diamond Miller, who hobbled off to the locker room after a play.

Despite this, Maryland rallied to cut the Iowa lead down to two, just before Miller eventually returned to the floor, having re-aggravated an ankle injury she played through the rest of the game. 

But Iowa remained in front, and headed into the fourth quarter with a 64-61 lead.

Iowa fans erupted early in the fourth following an 8-2 run that put the Hawkeyes up 76-68. Maryland was forced to call a timeout in desperation, hoping to stall the growing Iowa momentum in any way it could. 

The Terps’ stars willed them back into it though, mostly through the persistence of Miller, who made her home at the free throw line in this one. 

Miller’s performance helped the Terps finally break through, tying the game even at 79 after having been down ever since Iowa’s first quarter.

But this was a game of runs, and Iowa responded with a 6-0 run of its own with 45 seconds left in the game, now ahead 85-79. 

“It was just one of those games that it felt like we just couldn’t get over that hump,” coach Brenda Frese said. “Every time we’d close the gap and be a possession away, and they’d get an o-board to a great shot and it’d fall.”

Marshall hit her seventh three of the game to break the deadlock, tying her career-high on the big stage and giving her team much needed breathing room.

But Maryland did not back down, scoring five-straight thanks to an Iowa turnover to bring the game within one with 25 seconds left. The Terps valiant effort gave them one last chance to send the game to overtime, having 22.8 seconds left to do so. 

But Meyers missed the shot the Terps got on the ensuing possession, icing the game as the Hawkeyes took this one, slotting them against the No. 4-seed Ohio State in the championship game.

“At the end of the day, they won this game, but I still feel like we’re the better team,” Miller said.

Maryland now awaits Selection Sunday, on March 12, where it will find out its position in this year’s NCAA Tournament.