No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball wins in a thriller over No. 16 Ohio State, 76-74

Taylor Thierry put up the open floater as the seconds ticked down, with the Buckeyes down 76-74 and needing a miracle moment to send it to overtime with the buzzer about to sound.

As the shot fell the entire arena held their breath. The ball hit the rim and was shot back up into the air, as Cotie McMahon rose above the rest of the pack.

Everyone looked to the jumbotron to see if it counted, and the fans were sent into dismay as they saw the ball in her hands with the clock reading zeros, disallowing the shot and giving the Terps the win.

No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball hung on in a barn burner in Columbus, just barely edging out No. 16 Ohio State in a 76-74 win on the Buckeyes’ senior night, headlined by the play of Abby Meyers, who finished with 24 points on 11-15 shooting.

“To come off of that emotional high with Iowa, you couldn’t have set a bigger stage here with Ohio State,” coach Brenda Frese said. “We knew this was going to be a highly emotionally charged game and…we found a way.” 

The win could have massive seeding implications for the Terps in the Big Ten Tournament. If No. 2 Indiana defeats No. 6 Iowa in its final game of the season, they lock up the No. 2-seed.

The Terps’ defensive game plan was clear early on: shut down senior guard Taylor Mikesell as they did in the first outing, which Mikesell scored 12 points on 5-19 shooting in. Maryland denied Mikesell the ball at nearly all parts of the court, face-guarding the Ohio State star on every offensive possession it could, which became a trend throughout the game.

As for Maryland’s offense, it was the Meyers and Diamond Miller show to begin, with the two combining for the team’s first 12 points. Each had six and there was only one missed shot between the two of them halfway through the first quarter.

Although Maryland succeeded in locking down Mikesell for most of the first quarter, other Buckeyes stepped up during the stretch. McMahon was in the thick of this, scoring six of the team’s 16 first quarter points while running much of the offense.

The Buckeyes used this offensive surge to take advantage when Miller left the floor for the Terps, going on a 10-3 run to end the quarter, taking a 16-15 lead.

One dangerous sign for the Buckeyes early in the second quarter was the continued confident play of senior guard/forward Brinae Alexander, who by the halfway mark of the second quarter had picked up right where she left off against Iowa, converting her first three attempts from behind the arc.

Alexander, who scored 24 against the Hawkeyes, had 11 early points in this one and eight in the second quarter alone, once again leading the Terps in scoring up to that point. She wasn’t alone on the offensive end, with Miller and Meyers continuing to pour it in on the offensive end. By the half, all three were already in double figures.

McMahon continued to lead the way for Ohio State with 11 points, but the Buckeyes’ offense simply could not keep up with the Terps trifecta early, which allowed Maryland to retake the lead 38-33 at the half. 

Although each team shot the ball around 50% in the first half, the difference in the game was the Buckeyes abysmal free throw shooting. From the charity stripe, Ohio State couldn’t seem to hit water if it threw a stone at a lake, shooting just 2-8 to start the game.

The Buckeyes used the momentum of the whole offense to tie things back up at 51 midway through the third quarter, a massive improvement from the offense they showed in the 90-54 blowout the Terps handed them in the first outing.

Maryland’s defensive struggles caused it to give up the lead, surrendering 30 third quarter points to the Ohio State offense as the Buckeyes surged back into a 63-58 lead.

Frese was incensed in the huddle, yelling at her team to try and get them to bring the energy on the defensive end in the fourth.

Meyers answered Frese’s call in the first minute of the fourth quarter, knocking down a three before forcing a steal and going coast to coast on the next play, netting the game back even at 63. 

Meyers and sophomore guard Shyanne Sellers began to take over on the offensive end after Miller picked up her fourth foul and went to the bench, but the Buckeyes seemed to answer every basket from the Terps as Maryland led just by one, 75-74, with just under three minutes left.

“Abby was just fearless,” Frese said. “She said this was the most fun she’s ever had in a game in this environment.”  

Up by one with 11 seconds to go, Meyers was fouled and had a chance to put Maryland up three before Ohio State getting a chance to answer back, but Meyers missed the first and made the second, leaving the door open. 

Coming down the other way, Sellers fouled out on an inbound, sending junior guard Rikki Harris to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game at 76. 

But she missed both. 

Ohio State got the offensive rebound, giving it yet another chance. But McMahon’s putback was disallowed, giving the Terps the win.

“We’re peaking at the right time…everyone is really buying in right now,” Meyers said. “I think the biggest takeaway I can say is we’re having fun with it.”