Leaving no doubt
Superior depth lifts Terps to easy win, into Sweet 16
No matter which direction Alabama players looked, their eyes landed on a Maryland player they couldn’t stop.
The deepest women’s basketball team in America was just too dangerous Wednesday.
No. 2 seed Maryland earned its 14th berth to the Sweet 16 in program history by putting on a start-to-finish clinic in a 100-64 win
Hemisfair Region | Sweet 16 San Antonio
NO. 2 MARYLAND VS.
NO. 3 UCLA/NO. 6 TEXAS Sunday, 9 p.m. | TV: ESPN
over No. 7 seed Alabama in San Antonio.
Maryland will face the winner of Wednesday night’s game between No. 3 seed UCLA and No. 6 seed Texas on Sunday.
The Terps (26-2) surpassed 100 points for the seventh time this season, a program record, and captured their 15th straight win.
After routing Mount St. Mary’s by 53 points in the opening round, it’s the first time Maryland has won consecutive NCAA tournament games by 30-plus points in program history, according to the Big Ten Network.
Maryland coach Brenda Frese joked that she feels spoiled, that she and her staff get disappointed when the Terps don’t hit 100 points.
“What I love about this team is they just have continued to keep putting their head down and go to work,” Frese said. “Just really haven’t paid attention to any of that extra
noise out there. This group is super competitive, and they just want to get better. … They know what’s at stake now.”
Freshman Angel Reese (St. Frances) starred in Maryland’s demolition derby with 19 points, one of five Terps to score in double figures. Sophomore Faith Masonius had a career-high 16 points, followed by Mimi Collins and Diamond Miller with 13 each and sophomore Ashley Owusu with 10.
“In an ironic way, when Angel got hurt, it allowed a lot of players to develop their plays,” Frese said. “Now, the longer we’ve played, it’s allowed Angel to get back in the fold.
“They’re just constantly making the right plays for one another, championship plays. They’re making the game look really easy.”
Maryland shot 61.8% from the field, while Alabama climbed to 42.6% by game’s end, landing 11 points beneath its per-game average. Bench players poured in nearly half the points for the Terps.
“Obviously, its fun when you’ve got your bench coming out and destroying,” said Masonius, one of the bench players. “We [the bench] got 46 points? That’s a championship team right there.”
Somehow teams haven’t learned to cover Collins in the first quarter yet. The Waldorf native earned a reputation over the past few weeks for playing hot as coals in the first 10 minutes, and on Wednesday she put that knack on display.
Collins exploded for Maryland’s first nine points, kicking off a Terps run that, buoyed by 3-pointers from Katie Benzan and Miller, left Alabama behind 15-6 at a timeout.
Reese came up with a slogan, “All gas, no breaks,” that Maryland put on display, a mindset Frese thinks embodies the way her team has played in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s very important we come out and punch first and step on the gas,” Masonius said.
Clearly, the Crimson Tide didn’t devise a strategy to stop the Terps fast enough in their first huddle.
Benzan burst back onto the floor with her second 3, followed by Masonius, who rocketed off the bench to land a basket on her first try.
All the while not one Alabama player could make a shot. A choking, collective Terps defense saw to that.
While limiting the Crimson Tide to 27% shooting, Maryland embarked on three unchallenged scoring runs within the quarter, imprisoning Alabama in droughts spanning several minutes. The Terps shot 71% in the quarter, 67% from 3-point range and 100% from the freethrow line.
Masonius said her team really took pride in its defensive prowess after its second game against Michigan on March 4. The sophomore credited Chloe Bibby (four steals) for commanding that effort, jumping on the attack the minute the game started.
By the time Alabama junior Allie Craig Cruce managed to hit a 3-pointer, the Crimson Tide found themselves drowning under the gold-clad Maryland wave. Reese and Masonius capped a 10-0 run to push Alabama into a 30-9 hole at the end of the quarter.
It didn’t matter that Alabama players like Jasmine Walker, who led the offense with 23 points, tried to chip away with the occasional bucket. It didn’t help that Alabama turned the ball over 11 times in the first half and Maryland capitalized with 18 points.
It also didn’t matter that sophomore phenom Owusu didn’t post a single point until under two minutes before halftime. Frese’s “floor general” knows when she needs to turn it on — such as when she saved the day against Nebraska in the Big Ten tournament — and when she doesn’t.
With Masonius, Collins and Reese into double figures by the half, Owusu didn’t need to do more than assist her capable teammates.
Meanwhile, the Terps defense shut down Alabama redshirt senior guard Jordan Lewis, who had 32 points against North Carolina in the first round. Lewis did not land a single shot until she hit a free throw toward the end of the second quarter and not a single field goal until the second half.
Lewis finished with just eight points, shooting 2-for-9 from the floor and 1-for-4 from 3-pointrange.
“We were obviously concerned with the game Lewis had, so I thought we locked in really well with making her have to take difficult shots,” Frese said.