MINNEAPOLIS - March 8th, 2024
No. 8 seed Maryland advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals after stunning No. 1 seed and No. 4 nationally-ranked Ohio State, 82-61, on Friday at Target Center. It was the Terps' first win over a Top-5 ranked team since beating No. 4 Louisville, 76-73, on April 1, 2014 in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. The Terps will play in the semifinals for the ninth time in its 10 seasons in the Big Ten.
Maryland (19-12) is the lowest-seeded team to advance to the Big Ten Semifinals since Illinois in 2011. The Terps will play the No. 5 seed Nebraska on Saturday at 2 pm ET.
First Team All-Big Ten awardee Shyanne Sellers scored a game-high 25 points and added seven assists and eight rebounds. It was her eighth game of the season where she scored more than 20 points.
All-Big Ten Second Team honoree Jakia Brown-Turner posted 19 points and nine rebounds. Graduate Brinae Alexander drilled five three-pointers to give her 19 points on the day as well.
Senior Faith Masonius had a tremendous performance as she notched her fourth career double-double and first this season with a season-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. She also added four assists and shot 7-of-8 from the floor.
The Terps boasted a significant advantage in the rebounding department as they outrebounded the Buckeyes 55-31, including 21-10 on the offensive glass that contributed to 19 second-chance points. The Terrapins led 38-30 at halftime and remained in control the rest of the way.
The Terrapins' dominant performance extended to their defense. Ohio State (25-5) was held 19.4 points under its season average and its leading scorer Jacy Sheldon was limited to 10 points.
The Terps avenged their two regular-season losses to the Buckeyes with their win on Friday.
Coach Frese's Take
"I just loved our intensity and energy from the tip. I thought we weathered foul trouble, and our fifth years, Jakia, Faith, and Nae, 53 points combined were huge. Shy has battled injuries and has been tough all year. So proud to be able to get this win against Ohio State with her. All these guys have been to an Elite Eight, so you talk about being on the biggest stage and knowing they weren't going to be denied this time of year. Rebounding was huge. That was an area for us to go on the glass and be plus 24. Just really proud of this team. We've battled so much adversity this season -- injuries, one of the toughest schedules in the country. We played so many top 25 teams, top 10 teams, and have battled them all. So to finally get over that hump today when it matters most in the most time of pressure is a testament to these guys."
From The Girls
I feel like we're just peaking at the right time," said Shyanne Sellers. "That's what I said. I said to Coach all year, especially the second half, I feel like we're right there from flipping the switch and making those turns. Our Iowa game, our Ohio State game have all been super close, we just haven't gotten over that hump. Now we've gotten over the hump, I feel like we're going to keep going and not look back."
"It is hard to beat a team three times, and I think we wanted to come out here and just play to the best of our ability," said Faith Masonius on Maryland's game preparation. "Coach B's been telling us the only team that can beat us is ourselves. Even before we left, Shy looked at me, and she was like, just be on the glass tonight. I took that to heart and just got in there."