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| Maryland women get past Iona to open NCAA tournament | Maryland women get past Iona to open NCAA tournament |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The No. 2 seeded Maryland women’s basketball team had been dispatching Big Ten opponents so emphatically of late that a first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament against Iona didn’t figure to present much of a challenge. | The No. 2 seeded Maryland women’s basketball team had been dispatching Big Ten opponents so emphatically of late that a first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament against Iona didn’t figure to present much of a challenge. |
| Not only were the 15th-seeded Gaels making their first NCAA tournament appearance, but Saturday’s game also was at Xfinity Center, where the Terrapins have lost once in the past two seasons. | Not only were the 15th-seeded Gaels making their first NCAA tournament appearance, but Saturday’s game also was at Xfinity Center, where the Terrapins have lost once in the past two seasons. |
| But Maryland was unable to shake the Gaels until the fourth quarter, using stifling defense to hold the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament champions without a field goal over the final 6 minutes 54 seconds in completing a 74-58 victory. | |
| [Terps hope deep bench fuels a deep NCAA run] | [Terps hope deep bench fuels a deep NCAA run] |
| The Terrapins (31-3), who were playing for the first time in nearly two weeks, won their 10th straight game overall and ninth in a row at home in the NCAA tournament to advance to the round of 32 in the Lexington Region. The Terrapins will face seventh-seeded Washington on Monday night for the right to go to the region semifinals at Rupp Arena. | |
| “I thought it was great we had to earn that game,” Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said. “Credit Iona. I thought they came in and played really a complete 40-minute game. They defended hard. They shot the ball extremely well. They were really scrappy. I thought once we were able to kind of settle in, you saw our experience come into play. Our bench was huge.” | “I thought it was great we had to earn that game,” Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said. “Credit Iona. I thought they came in and played really a complete 40-minute game. They defended hard. They shot the ball extremely well. They were really scrappy. I thought once we were able to kind of settle in, you saw our experience come into play. Our bench was huge.” |
| Maryland’s bench contributed 30 points, with redshirt senior point guard Brene Moseley scoring half that total. Junior guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough led the Terrapins with 19 points, going 10 for 10 from the tree throw line, to go along with six rebounds and four assists. | |
| [March Madness: Live updates from the men’s NCAA tournament] | [March Madness: Live updates from the men’s NCAA tournament] |
| The Terrapins placed five players in double figures, shot 58.3 percent from the field and dominated on the boards, collecting 42 rebounds to Iona’s 25 — a margin that helped compensate for a second straight game with 19 turnovers. The Gaels (23-12) shot 32.3 percent and got a game-high 21 points, including 7 of 15 three-pointers, from sophomore guard Philecia Gilmore. | |
| A 10-3 flurry in the fourth quarter gave Maryland a 70-56 lead with 4:55 to play. Moseley scored the first four points on back-to-back jumpers, and senior forward Malina Howard scored on a layup and short jumper. Moseley sank a pull-up jumper moments later, and the Terrapins were on their way to the round of 32. | |
| “They’re very talented,” Iona Coach Billi Godsey, a Cheverly native who attended Archbishop Carroll High School, said of the Terrapins. “They have a lot of different people that can score and rebound for them. They hit a lot of good shots. We tried to make them take tough shots, and they knocked them down. They move the ball really well. They’re an unselfish team.” | “They’re very talented,” Iona Coach Billi Godsey, a Cheverly native who attended Archbishop Carroll High School, said of the Terrapins. “They have a lot of different people that can score and rebound for them. They hit a lot of good shots. We tried to make them take tough shots, and they knocked them down. They move the ball really well. They’re an unselfish team.” |
| [Women’s NCAA tournament scores, schedule] | [Women’s NCAA tournament scores, schedule] |
| Maryland scored the first four points of the third quarter to open a 46-27 margin and appeared poised to pull away. The Gaels had other ideas though, countering with consecutive three-pointers from Gilmore and Alexis Lewis followed by a 7-1 run that featured Gilmore’s sixth three-pointer. Iona trimmed the deficit to 51-42 with 5:20 left in the third quarter on Joy Adams’s layup. | Maryland scored the first four points of the third quarter to open a 46-27 margin and appeared poised to pull away. The Gaels had other ideas though, countering with consecutive three-pointers from Gilmore and Alexis Lewis followed by a 7-1 run that featured Gilmore’s sixth three-pointer. Iona trimmed the deficit to 51-42 with 5:20 left in the third quarter on Joy Adams’s layup. |
| The Terrapins stretched the lead to 58-42 on reserve forward Tierney Pfirman’s jumper, two Walker-Kimbrough free throws and Pfirman’s three-pointer, but Iona again had an answer, closing the quarter on a 6-2 burst. Marina Lizarazu, a junior point guard from Spain, scored four of those points to draw the Gaels within 60-48. | The Terrapins stretched the lead to 58-42 on reserve forward Tierney Pfirman’s jumper, two Walker-Kimbrough free throws and Pfirman’s three-pointer, but Iona again had an answer, closing the quarter on a 6-2 burst. Marina Lizarazu, a junior point guard from Spain, scored four of those points to draw the Gaels within 60-48. |
| Maryland’s lead was 38-23 with 3:58 remaining in the first half courtesy of a 12-4 flurry, with Moseley and junior center Brionna Jones scoring all Maryland’s points. Each had a three-point play during the push while the Terrapins leaned on defense. The result was one field goal over the final four minutes for the Gaels, who began the game making 4 of 5 three-pointers but finished 10 for 30. | |
| The Terrapins closed the first quarter by scoring 10 of the final 12 points, including a layup and two free throws by freshman forward Brianna Fraser. Howard’s layup seconds before the end of the quarter bumped Maryland’s advantage to 26-16. | The Terrapins closed the first quarter by scoring 10 of the final 12 points, including a layup and two free throws by freshman forward Brianna Fraser. Howard’s layup seconds before the end of the quarter bumped Maryland’s advantage to 26-16. |
| “I thought we came out and played hard,” Walker-Kimbrough said. “We just have to make sure when we come out and play that we have to continue to keep our foot on the gas and continue to keep the pressure on defense and not let up on teams. At this point in the season everyone’s good.” | “I thought we came out and played hard,” Walker-Kimbrough said. “We just have to make sure when we come out and play that we have to continue to keep our foot on the gas and continue to keep the pressure on defense and not let up on teams. At this point in the season everyone’s good.” |