Charles’ late FTs lift Terps to final

Maryland edges Michigan to reach 5th straight Big Ten championship game

INDIANAPOLIS — When the Maryland women’s basketball team’s latest thriller was finally done, Kaila Charles jammed her clenched fists straight down by her side, turned on a heel to sprint down court to join her teammates in celebration and let out a guttural scream along the way.

This was not a normal reaction from the calm, cool Terrapins who are used to competing for Big Ten tournament championships by now, having played in every title game since they joined the conference in 2014. On any other day, this reaction might have been too emotional for an ending that came down to a flubbed inbounds pass.

But the celebration after top-seeded Maryland’s 73-72 win over No. 4 seed Michigan was fitting for a milestone victory.

Not only did the Terrapins advance to the

Big Ten tournament title game, where they will play either No. 2 seed Iowa or No. 3 seed Rutgers for a chance at their fourth conference tournament title in five years in the Big Ten, but Maryland also secured its 1,000th victory in program history Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The victory puts them in rarefied air alongside just 11 other Division I women’s programs including Tennessee (1,363), Connecticut (1,136), Stanford (1,086) and a pair of programs from Virginia in James Madison (1,118) and Old Dominion (1,059).

“It speaks volumes of the University of Maryland, the program and the legacy,” Coach Brenda Frese said, who also passed a personal milestone this season in clocking her 500th career win. “I can't say enough about the two coaches before me with Dottie McKnight and Chris Weller, who set the bar and set the standard for me to follow. It's all of us that have continued that tradition, the great tradition that we have here at Maryland. TV: We're one of very few programs in the country, to be able to own a milestone like this is pretty special.”

Maryland’s (28-3) latest thriller – two of its final three games of the regular season also came down to nail-biting finishes – ended on a poor inbounds pass from Michigan in what amounted to an anti-climactic ending to an intense game that featured four lead changes in the final 2:30.

Despite the frenzied finish, Frese and her fellow coaches on the Terps’ bench looked relaxed in the final seconds, even as they trailed the Wolverines by one point with 21 seconds to play. Frese, for all the stomping and snapping she usually does on the sidelines during games, stood calmly with her arms crossed.

“There was never any panic from anybody, between players, coaches, we've been in these situations so many times that there's actually just a calming, peaceful, collective mindset of what we need to do,” Frese said. “I think that's obviously because we've been through so many intense games this season, the conference has prepared us with so many great teams.”

Having Kaila Charles on your team helps a coach stay calm, as well.

Charles, the junior who led the team with 22 points and six rebounds, scored the final six for Maryland, including a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining that put the Terps up for good.

Maryland’s defense then ate nine seconds off the clock on Michigan’s ensuing possession and Frese called a timeout after Shakira Austin just got her fingers on Amy Dilk’s layup for her third block of the game and Michigan grabbed an offensive rebound.

The freshman logged Maryland’s second milestone of the day – Austin’s 82 blocks this season broke the program season record of 80 set by Kris Kirchner in 1979.