The Terps trailed by 21 points after the first quarter.
No. 4-seed Maryland women’s basketball headed to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament winners of six of its last seven regular season games and fresh off a double-by.
The Terps faced No. 5-seed Michigan, who they beat just over two weeks ago. But this time around, they were overwhelmed by the Wolverines high-octane offense in a 98-71 loss Friday afternoon.
“[Michigan did] everything we expected,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. “I don’t know if the big stage for a lot of these guys for the first time impacted that, but I know we can learn and get better from it.”
Jordan Hobbs led the Wolverines with 23 points on four triples, while Sarah Te-Biasu led all scorers with 25 points.
The game started relatively normal, Michigan looked sharp offensively and Maryland responded by pounding the ball inside to its post players. The score was 6-6, then chaos broke loose. The Terps fell apart every aspect of the game.
They turned the ball over in sloppy fashion, simply unable to produce an efficient offensive possession. On the other end, the Terps saw flashbacks of their previous matchup against the Wolverines, as they lost track of various threats from the perimeter.
Michigan’s three-headed monster of Syla Swords, Olivia Olson and Jordan Hobbs punished the Terps lack of discipline by spraying threes. They combined for five first-quarter triples, as Maryland hit a scoring drought of over six minutes, largely due to nine first-quarter turnovers.
After 10 atrocious minutes, the Terps found themselves in a 21-point hole.
“Disappointed we came out as flat as we did, that can’t happen in March,” Frese said.
The second quarter wasn’t an instant fix for the Terps, as Michigan extended its run to 25-0 before Maryland finally broke its scoreless drought. Once it did, though, the floodgates opened. Its offense moveed through Sarah Te-Biasu, who hit multiple difficult threes.
Maryland also flipped the script on turnovers, speeding Michigan up with a full-court press of its own.
Te-Biasu and Christina Dalce worked off each other to create offense for the Terps that answered Michigan’s run with a 16-0 spell. Dalce ended with a season-high 19 points.
The Terps battled all the way back to cut Michigan’s lead to a point late in the half. Their improbable comeback had them within striking distance as the second half got underway, but they needed more help offensively.
It quickly became clear they weren’t going to get it, as Michigan’s shooters got hot again and Maryland was completely incapable of keeping pace.
Shyanne Sellers managed just two points all night, as she looked bothered by her knee injury, and Kaylene Smikle spent most of the afternoon in foul trouble.
The Wolverines extended their lead back to 20 points heading into the final quarter.
Maryland fans hoped for another miracle in the fourth quarter, but didn’t get it. The Terps couldn’t get enough stops, as they let up the most points they have all season.
It was Maryland’s second-ever first-game exit in the Big Ten Tournament.
Three things to know
1. Hosting chances out the window. The loss probably represented the nail in the coffin of any chance Maryland had to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Terps will likely be a No. 5 or No. 6 seed now.
“Us losing by 27 to a team we beat in-season is unacceptable,” Dalce said. “Everyone in the NCAA Tournament is going to think they can beat us.”
2. Bench play improved. The Terps received a boost from Mir McLean off the bench, who put up her third double-digit scoring game of the season. That could be a good sign for the national tournament if Maryland can paired it with normal production from its starters.
“Despite everything, our bench really showed out,” Dalce said. “They did everything they could.”
3. Perimeter defense was a problem. Despite being hurt from beyond the arc the last time it played Michigan, Maryland failed to adjust, allowing Michigan to shoot 12-of-23 (52.2%) from deep.