The Terps’ senior day ended in sour fashion.
No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball’s senior day was set up for a perfect ending against Illinois. The Terps were down a point when Allie Kubek caught Shyanne Sellers’ inbound pass and gave it right back to Sellers for a slightly contested midrange jumper.
But the shot was an inch too long, bouncing off the rim twice before falling to the floor. The Terps suffered a heartbreaking setback, falling to the Illini, 66-65, Sunday at Xfinity Center.
“That was what we wanted, felt good coming off [my hands],” Sellers said.
The down-to-the-wire contest produced 14 lead changes, and Maryland manufactured its second-lowest scoring output of the season in its fourth defeat in five games.
“Illinois was dictating this to be a low-scoring game, taking possessions out of the game,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. “If they didn’t have anything in transition, they were going to run the shot clock for 30 seconds.”
Before tip-off, Xfinity Center was in a celebratory mood, as the program honored Amari DeBerry, Christina Dalce, Emma Chardon, Sarah Te Biasu and four-year star Sellers.
DeBerry started along with her fellow seniors, but Illinois equaled the Terps early efforts. The teams traded buckets for the first six minutes, before Maryland made its first run to create separation. The Terps got a boost from Emily Fisher off the bench, who has seen a serious rise in her role as of late.
Maryland ended the quarter on a 7-0 run capped by a Dalce buzzer-beater, but the refs determined the shot came a split second too late, resulting in a seven-point Maryland lead after 10 minutes.
After some struggles to score, Illinois got its offense going through Adalia McKenzie, who scored nine first-half points. Maryland also failed to convert a couple easy chances around the rim. The Illini tied the game at 30 with McKenzie in attack mode, before Maryland pushed its lead back to two points heading into halftime.
The second half started with multiple concerns for the Terps. Right on the back of Illinois taking a one-point lead, Sellers left the game after seemingly reaggravating her previously sprained right knee.
While Sellers was in the locker room, her teammates responded with a 10-0 scoring run, powered by two threes from Allie Kubek and Saylor Poffenbarger. Sellers returned from the locker room looking like herself.
For every blow Maryland dealt, the Illini were ready with a counterpunch. The Terps’ nine-point advantage didn’t last long, as Illinois guard Genesis Bryant hit a different gear, while Maryland simultaneously went cold offensively.
Illinois took a one-point lead, and right when it felt like it would take full control, Te-Biasu took her defender on and drilled a step-back three. Sellers followed her up with a clutch triple, but Illinois had an answer, and the game headed into the fourth quarter knotted at 50 points apiece.
Illinois seized the lead early in the fourth quarter, building its biggest advantage of four points. But Maryland responded, as another massive Te-Biasu three put it back up one, sending Xfinity Center into a frenzy.
As they had done all day, the Illini remained level-headed, and when they trailed by two points with under a minute left, Brynn Shoup-Hill knocked down a massive 3-pointer to put them back up by a point.
“That was a big time shot,” Illinois head coach Shauna Greene said. “Brynn is one of the best shooters I’ve ever coached”
Then, Poffenbarger came up with a clutch steal to earn Maryland the ball back, and Sellers hit a turn-around jumper in the post to put Maryland back up by a point.
On the other end, though, Te-Biasu fouled Bryant, who hit the game-winning free throws.
“I know today was special, the senior day, but the season is not over,” Te-Biasu said. “There’s other games. We got to go out there and compete.”
Three things to know
1. Rotation changes. Mir McLean has been an important member of Maryland’s rotation, particularly since Bri McDaniel’s injury. However, the forward saw just four minutes of action in the loss. Conversely, Fisher, who has been mostly a reserve, played 21 minutes, putting up four points and four rebounds.
“Mir has got to have better practices, better games. She’s in a place right now where Penn State, [she had] five turnovers,” Frese said.
2. 600 will have to wait. If Sellers’ shot had dropped at the buzzer, it would have been an epic conclusion to Frese’s 600th victory as Maryland’s head coach. Instead, she will have to wait until at least next Thursday when Maryland takes on Oregon on the road.
3. Maryland’s offense was slower than normal. Maryland missed some high-percentage looks in the loss. Te-Biasu had a great look at a late three to answer, but it rattled in and out, exemplifying the fine margins of Maryland’s loss.
“They were disruptive. Honestly, offensively wasn’t really our problem,” Sellers said. “[We] couldn’t get stops.”