Shyanne Sellers’ second half play pushed Maryland women’s basketball past Notre Dame

Shyanne Sellers walked into the locker room with her head down, frustrated with the poor effort both herself and her team had put forth in the first half against Notre Dame.

The sophomore has torn up opposing defenses all season, taking on a significant offensive load for coach Brenda Frese. Sellers is Maryland’s starting two guard, primary ball-handler, pseudo-backup point guard and top perimeter defender.

That’s a lot to take on, and it seemed as if the offensive burden was finally catching up to the Ohio native on Saturday. Sellers did not have a field goal in the first half, seemingly bothered by a Notre Dame defense allowing just 58 points per game entering the afternoon.

Even worse, Sellers was turning the ball over. Frese loves to play fast, but she knows the key to losing is turnovers. Yet, Sellers recorded three of those in the first half, including two mistakes that led to easy Notre Dame baskets.

To make matters worse, her first team All-Big Ten teammate, senior guard Diamond Miller, was struggling equally in the first half. Miller only had four points in the first half on 1-4 shooting.

“The fact that they were able to slow us down really affected…my game and maybe Shay as well,” Miller said.

It must have felt like a blessing when the Terps went into the locker room only trailing by one point. The Fighting Irish had completely shut down two impact pieces, had established their post advantage and were forcing turnovers.

Frese saw the same thing everyone else did, and let her stars know about it.

“Diamond and Shay took a little minute,” Frese said.

But just as she had all year, Frese let the enigmatic sophomore work through her struggles.

Similar to the Arizona game, the second half lineup was different from the starting five. Elisa Pinzan was struggling to see over the Notre Dame length, so just as she did in the last NCAA tournament game, started the second half on the bench.

That meant even more trust was being placed on Sellers to figure it out as the lead guard — because if she didn’t — Maryland’s season would likely have come to a screeching halt.

And Sellers responded.

The sophomore changed the course of the game in the third quarter, scoring nine points on 3-4 shooting. She also found her teammates, picking up two assists in the period. 

“It’s pretty hard when you have versatile guards,” Sellers said.

The highlight of the quarter was a beautiful transition pass to Miller who finished the and-one layup, sprinting in front of the Terps bench and crowd to celebrate.

It seemed as if the moment was cathartic for the two stars, each releasing the frustrations that they had in the first half. Miller and Sellers carried Maryland to the Sweet 16, and the second half proved how talented the duo is.

A 13-1 run over a five-minute stretch in the third quarter sealed the deal for Maryland, giving it a 12-point advantage heading into the final frame. From there, it was a coast to the finish line for the Terps, defeating the Fighting Irish, 76-59.

While Miller gets the headlines, Abby Meyers is the shooter and Faith Masonius is the glue, it was the ‘dog’ of the Terps’ roster that helped them get back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015. 

Sellers has proven all year she can shoulder the load. Yet against Notre Dame, when adversity hit, it was the way the young guard responded to her coach calling her out that gave Frese her first Sweet 16 win in eight seasons. 

“I can tell when [Sellers] is in her bag,” Frese said, laughing.

If Maryland wants to slay the dragon in South Carolina, it’s going to need the lanky, skinny guard to add another notch onto her already full belt: A Final Four appearance.