The No. 2 Maryland Terrapins’ run came to a tough end Monday night.
The defending national champion No. 1 South Carolina is moving on to the final four.
“Just super, super proud of this team.” Coach Frese said in the post-game.
“The biggest thing is nobody could have seen this team last season when we had to rebuild it go and do what they were able to do this season. Just incredibly proud of this team and for leaving it out there for the 40 minutes”
The Key Takeaways
First Quarter Maryland came out swinging
Maryland came out aggressive with offense and defense with a limited bench and depth. That was tested Coach Staley gave her thoughts on how the game started.
“The game had to settle down. Obviously, Maryland came on and played extremely fast, just moving the ball up and down the floor. They were extremely physical, and I thought it just took us a while to get our footing, to really make adjustments to how they were playing us.”
Maryland won the first quarter but South Carolina did not go down.
After the First Quarter, everything changed
Okay, I know what you are thinking. Feeling pretty confident after the first quarter? South Carolina responded with the same aggression “I think we just had to start attacking them the same way they were attacking us” Zia Cooke said.
Maryland began to get into serious foul trouble. But that second quarter was costly, the number of free throws. We’re typically a team that gets to the free-throw line 20, or 25 times. We only got there 15 times, and I think it was five after half when it got even more calls. They got there 26 times. Coach Frese said.
Fouls should never dictate the game. Every official is different with the calls. Former Head Coach Mike Thibault put into perspective if it was the same official crew every game there is a point, however, if you are doing the same thing over and over again that can’t be on the officials. Yes, South Carolina got away with questionable calls.
Abby Meyers who was the source of offense to keep the team afloat in the second quarter had two very questionable calls. “Diamond and Shy, they were in foul trouble, so they sat out in the second quarter. We were the more physical team apparently” a 26-12 disadvantage in foul calling.
As the game wore on South Carolina took over, and that is what a championship team looks like.
Keep Ya Head Up
The 2022-2023 Maryland Terrapins defined the #LeUSgy after an offseason where many did not believe in the Terps, and counted this team out? To make it to the Elite 8. That is trust! That’s what a team looks like. The Terps got a taste of where this team can go next year, and they will be ready for this moment. “Just really incredibly proud, and I think it shows a group of women in the locker room what can be accomplished when you’re unselfish and you put your head down and you go to work.”
“It was such a satisfying season, just with so many question marks going into the year. But because these guys believed and stayed the course, you were able to see some pretty magical things. Disappointed the locker room because we wanted to continue to go further, but just so incredibly proud of these players, the coaches, and the support staff for the journey that we got to have this season.” Coach Frese said.
Congrats on a Good Year! GO TERPS!!!!
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