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| Maryland women give Northwestern little hope, reach Big Ten final | Maryland women give Northwestern little hope, reach Big Ten final |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| INDIANAPOLIS — So overpowering has top-seeded Maryland been lately that Northwestern’s Joe McKeown, the coach of the Terrapins’ opponent in Saturday’s Big Ten women’s basketball tournament semifinals, conceded he may have to resort to a special defense called “HTM” simply to have a chance. | INDIANAPOLIS — So overpowering has top-seeded Maryland been lately that Northwestern’s Joe McKeown, the coach of the Terrapins’ opponent in Saturday’s Big Ten women’s basketball tournament semifinals, conceded he may have to resort to a special defense called “HTM” simply to have a chance. |
| “You know what HTM means?” McKeown said. “Hope They Miss.” | “You know what HTM means?” McKeown said. “Hope They Miss.” |
| Maryland was not particularly accommodating in that regard, with five players scoring in double figures on the way to an 83-62 victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It was the eighth straight triumph for the fifth-ranked Terrapins, who advance to Sunday’s championship game to face third-seeded Michigan State, which throttled No. 2 seed Ohio State in the other semifinal, 82-63. | Maryland was not particularly accommodating in that regard, with five players scoring in double figures on the way to an 83-62 victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It was the eighth straight triumph for the fifth-ranked Terrapins, who advance to Sunday’s championship game to face third-seeded Michigan State, which throttled No. 2 seed Ohio State in the other semifinal, 82-63. |
| [Nickens on uptick for Terps men’s team after fighting through slump] | [Nickens on uptick for Terps men’s team after fighting through slump] |
| The reigning Big Ten regular season and tournament champions shot 63 percent in the second half to beat the 12th-seeded Wildcats for the fifth consecutive time, including three in a row this season. The Terrapins also bounced Northwestern in the tournament semifinals last season, their first in the Big Ten. | |
| Maryland (29-3) has beaten its last three opponents by an average of nearly 25 points. | Maryland (29-3) has beaten its last three opponents by an average of nearly 25 points. |
| “I thought we did a much better job after halftime settling in,” Terrapins Coach Brenda Frese said. “We were able to get the ball inside a little more. We were able to the read the defense and really make it difficult.” | “I thought we did a much better job after halftime settling in,” Terrapins Coach Brenda Frese said. “We were able to get the ball inside a little more. We were able to the read the defense and really make it difficult.” |
| Junior center Brionna Jones had 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for Maryland before resting for much of the fourth quarter. Reserve senior forward Tierney Pfirman also scored 17 points and had seven rebounds, contributing to a 44-34 rebounding margin. Maryland outrebounded Northwestern (18-16), which was playing its fourth game in as many days, 24-12 in the second half. | |
| The Terrapins limited Northwestern to 34 percent shooting overall and 5 for 20 from three-point range. Forward Nia Coffey scored a game-high 31 points for the Wildcats, setting a Big Ten tournament record with 100 points in four games, but teammate Ashley Deary (two points) missed all 14 of her field goal attempts. The junior point guard was averaging 12.4 points per game. | |
| Northwestern also was without starting guard Maggie Lyon. The Wildcats’ second-leading scorer missed her second straight game with a lower-body injury. | Northwestern also was without starting guard Maggie Lyon. The Wildcats’ second-leading scorer missed her second straight game with a lower-body injury. |
| [Hoyas routed at Villanova to clinch most losses since 1971-72] | [Hoyas routed at Villanova to clinch most losses since 1971-72] |
| Junior guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Maryland in a game it led for all but 57 seconds. Redshirt senior point guard Brene Moseley had 15 points as well with five assists after being named Big Ten sixth player of the year Monday. | |
| Twelve consecutive points for the Terrapins in the fourth quarter put to rest any doubt about the outcome. Pfirman made a jumper to open the run, and Jones scored the next five points. Sophomore guard Kristen Confroy sank a three-pointer, and the score hit 71-48 with six minutes left in the game on a pair of free throws from Moseley, who surpassed 1,000 points for her career. | Twelve consecutive points for the Terrapins in the fourth quarter put to rest any doubt about the outcome. Pfirman made a jumper to open the run, and Jones scored the next five points. Sophomore guard Kristen Confroy sank a three-pointer, and the score hit 71-48 with six minutes left in the game on a pair of free throws from Moseley, who surpassed 1,000 points for her career. |
| “It’s great to see [Moseley] getting this honor,” said Jones, who also eclipsed 1,000 points for her career this season. “She’s a great teammate. I love playing with her, and we’re all playing for her this season because she’s a senior.” | “It’s great to see [Moseley] getting this honor,” said Jones, who also eclipsed 1,000 points for her career this season. “She’s a great teammate. I love playing with her, and we’re all playing for her this season because she’s a senior.” |
| The Terrapins scored the first five points of the third quarter to build a double-digit lead, and an 8-2 flurry expanded the margin to 51-36 with 4 minutes 46 seconds left on 1 of 2 free throws from freshman forward Brianna Fraser. The advantage reached 57-41 with 1:48 to go when Maryland got Pfirman’s jump shot and consecutive jumpers from Moseley (Paint Branch High) and Walker-Kimbrough. | |
| Six consecutive points to open the second quarter had Maryland ahead 31-14 and threatening to pull away for good. But Northwestern scored the next 10 in a row while the Terrapins missed eight straight field goal attempts and went scoreless for nearly five minutes. The rut ended when senior forward Malina Howard sank a jumper, and the lead was 37-28 courtesy of Jones’s layup. | |
| Maryland led 37-30 at intermission despite misfiring from three-point range during the first half. The Terrapins went 2 for 12 from beyond the arc in that time, including Walker-Kimbrough missing all three of her attempts. She entered the game as the Division I leader in three-point field goal percentage (56 percent) and chasing the single-season record (57.5 percent) in that category. | |
| The Terrapins shot 53 percent overall despite missing 15 of 20 three-pointers. | |
| “At halftime I felt like we were in a good position,” said McKeown, who made the NCAA tournament in 15 of 19 seasons at George Washington. “I thought coming out in the third quarter we’d be able to a make a little run, and we did, and then we just ran out of gas. It caught up to us a little bit. Got to give [the Terrapins] credit. They’re who they are because of their depth.” | “At halftime I felt like we were in a good position,” said McKeown, who made the NCAA tournament in 15 of 19 seasons at George Washington. “I thought coming out in the third quarter we’d be able to a make a little run, and we did, and then we just ran out of gas. It caught up to us a little bit. Got to give [the Terrapins] credit. They’re who they are because of their depth.” |