COLLEGE PARK, Md. — For a moment, the Maryland women’s basketball team appeared to be the next candidate in Florida Gulf Coast’s Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament.
But the No. 4 seed Terps righted the ship with 19 unanswered points spanning the second and third quarters to cruise to an 89-65 victory over the upset-minded and No. 12 seed Eagles Sunday afternoon in a second-round game before an announced 4,575 at Xfinity Center.
A trio of starters — junior shooting guard Diamond Miller (a game-high 24 points), sophomore power forward Angel Reese (21) and junior point guard Ashley Owusu (20) — eclipsed the 20-point mark to send Maryland (23-8) to its second consecutive Sweet 16 and 15th in program history. The team will meet either No. 1 seed and reigning national champion Stanford (30-2) or No. 8 seed Kansas (21-9) in the next round on either Friday or Saturday at a time to be announced at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington.
Miller credited the team’s defensive intensity as the game’s turning point. Through the game’s first 16 minutes, 28 seconds, the Eagles shot 53.6% (15-of-28) and committed just six turnovers. In the final 43:32, they were limited to 27% (10-of-37) and gave the ball away nine times.
“We understood what they were doing, and we adjusted throughout the game,” said Miller, who amassed nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. “We played defense. We stopped them from shooting 3s.”
Graduate student shooting guard Kendall Spray scored 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range and grabbed four rebounds in the first half for Florida Gulf Coast (30-3). In the second half, she was shut out and did not take a shot from the floor while collecting four rebounds.
“I think that we just slowed them down a lot in the second half,” said Reese, who had nine rebounds. “We got [Spray]. She had 17 the first half, and we didn’t let her score again the second half. I think we made our defensive change, and I think that set the intensity for the game.”
The Terps scored nine of the game’s first 12 points and enjoyed a pair of seven-point leads in the first quarter, including at 18-11 with 3:20 remaining. But Florida Gulf Coast scored eight unanswered points and 10 of the next 12 to take its first lead at 21-20 with 1:22 left.
The two teams went back and forth through the second quarter until the Eagles used a 6-0 spurt to assume a 39-36 lead with 3:32 left in the period.
That’s when Maryland took over. The defense influenced Florida Gulf Coast into missing their last four shots and committing four turnovers in the remainder of the quarter, and the offense scored 11 consecutive points to give the team a 47-39 advantage at halftime.
The Terps then opened the third quarter with eight straight points and 11 of the first 13 for a 58-41 cushion that the Eagles would not be able to deflate.
Reese, a Baltimore resident and St. Frances graduate, converted 11-of-14 attempts at the free-throw line, and the team went 22-of-30 from the stripe compared to a 4-of-6 showing from the Eagles.
Reese, who connected on 16-of-19 free throws in two NCAA Tournament games, said she has been taking 50 free throws after each practice.
“My coaches expect a lot of me,” she said with a laugh. “I think I draw the most fouls on the team. So I need to step up and make my free throws. I’ve been really focused. I was frustrated I missed those three tonight. But I’ve been focused, and I know my teammates need me to make those free throws.”
That Miller, Reese and Owusu matched the entire point total for Florida Gulf Coast was not lost on Maryland coach Brenda Frese.
“When you have three All-American type players like that that are so talented and give you an inside-outside presence, that’s a dangerous team,” she said. “They’re really locked in, and they’re playing the right way.”
The Terps’ rotation of Reese, graduate student power forward Chloe Bibby and redshirt junior power forward Mimi Collins made a concerted effort to contain Eagles junior shooting guard Kierstan Bell. The team’s season leader in points and rebounds and an Ohio State transfer, Bell had only four points and three rebounds in the first half en route to finishing with 14 points on 6-of-20 shooting and five rebounds.
“I was very frustrated,” she said. “Things weren’t going our way. But I was just trying to stay together with my teammates. They were encouraging me throughout the half.”
Florida Gulf Coast was denied their first Sweet 16 appearance by the Terps’ length and aggression on defense, which forced the Eagles into making some uncharacteristic decisions, according to coach Karl Smesko.
“I think what really separated was when they went on a run, we started attempting tougher and tougher things rather than keeping it simple,” he said. “We were able to get good shots when we were able to space it out and just play our game. Their pressure probably made us make some decisions that we normally don’t make. We just needed better shot selection.”
NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
MARYLAND VS. TBD
Friday or Saturday, TBD
