College basketball in March means teams live by the words survive and advance.
That is exactly what the Maryland Terrapins women’s basketball team did on Saturday, defeating
Norfolk State 82 to 69 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The first may not have gone the way that the Maryland Terrapins drew it up. The Norfolk State Spartans took a shocking 32 to 30 lead into the half.
“I thought we were playing with a lot of nerves. We just needed to regroup and reset at halftime and go back and be who we are. I thought once we were able to get shots at the basket and run our offense pick up our defense. You saw the outcome," says Maryland Head Coach Brenda Frese.
In the 3rd quarter, the pace quickened, and the Terps came out with something to prove. It all started with Sarah Te-Biasu scoring 16 of her game-high 22 in the second half.
“I feel like I was really confident. From the start, just hitting my shots. As soon as I hit one, I said keep shooting it. And my teammates were giving me confidence,” says Maryland guard Te-Biasu.
Kaylene Smikle was a huge X factor for the Terps in the second half, scoring 18 in the final two quarters.
“It’s March, so no team wants to go home. This could be your last game. People are seniors; this could be their last game of their college career. So I feel like we’re playing for our seniors. We want to make a run for them,” says Maryland Guard Smikle.
It was a tale of two halves for the Terps. Head coach Brenda Frese says in order to beat Alabama coming up on Monday, they’re going to have to play 40 total minutes.
Monday's matchup against the Crimson Tide will be at Xfinity Center at 5 o’clock.
