MINNEAPOLIS - The third seeded Maryland women's basketball team defeated Illinois, 73-58, to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Friday night at the Target Center.

With the win, the Terps advance to the Big Ten Semifinals for the eighth time in their nine seasons in the league. Maryland will face No. 2-seeded Iowa at 5 p.m. ET and the matchup will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Maryland used a 20-4 run bridging the first and second quarters to lead by 13 with 5:04 left in the second quarter. Freshman Bri McDaniel scored 7 points in the run, including a three-pointer that gave the Terps the lead at 18-16. The Terrapins forced eight Ilini Turnovers alone in the second quarter and took a 41-25 lead at the break.
Diamond Miller and Abby Meyers each scored 14 points while Lavender Briggs added 11. Faith Masonius, Bri McDaniel each had nine and Brinae Alexander chipped in with eight. 
 
Maryland used a 20-4 run bridging the first and second quarters to lead by 13 with 5:04 left in the second quarter. Freshman Bri McDaniel scored seven points in the run, including a three-pointer that gave the Terps the lead at 18-16. 
 
The Terrapins forced eight Ilini Turnovers alone in the second quarter and took a 41-25 lead at the break.
 
In going 4-of-4 from the line, Miller set the program record for free throws made in a season with 177 as she broke Alyssa Thomas' record of 176 made free throws in 2012-13. 
 
Illinois (22-9) was led by Makira Cook, who had 19 points. 
 


Breaking Down The Action

• Maryland led 20-18 after the first quarter after ending the period on a 9-2 run.
• The Terps took a 41-25 lead into the intermission after a balanced effort with seven Terrapins finding the bucket.
• Maryland used a 13-2 run to start the second quarter to take a 33-20 lead at 5:04.
• Illinois battled back to win the third quarter, 21-19, but the Terrapins led 60-46 heading into the final period.

MOVING ON!

See ya Saturday. #LegUSy pic.twitter.com/FJogYvIZ2Q

— Maryland Women's Basketball (@TerpsWBB) March 4, 2023

Brenda Frese's Take

"Obviously, we're thrilled to be able to come out, and I thought we set the tone from the tip. Obviously having -- we've been off for about a week, so it took a little bit in that first four or five minutes to get our feet under us. I thought defensively, we were really aggressive and were able to turn them over for a lot of turnovers on the defensive end. Offensively, just loved the 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio as a team, just spreading the wealth, being really, really unselfish.

Bri [McDaniel, I shared with her, the first time we played Illinois to tonight, there's something about being from Chicago and liking to play against Illinois. I thought it was a very contagious energy she was able to provide us off the bench.

I can't say enough about Shauna and their staff and Illinois. I hope they make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Their staff has done a terrific job this year. Obviously, we're thrilled about continuing on."

Big Ten Tournament History   

• Maryland is 20-3 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament. The Terrapins won the 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021 Big Ten Tournament titles. 
• Head coach Brenda Frese is 20-4 in the Big Ten Tournament, including her one season at Minnesota (2001-02). She has the highest winning percentage (.833) of any coach in Big Ten Tournament history.
• With the win over Illinois, Maryland advanced to the Big Ten Semifinals for the eighth time in its nine seasons in the Big Ten. 
• Maryland is now 8-1 all time in the Big Ten Quarterfinals.

1,000 Point Update 

• Miller moved to 13th all-time in career scoring with 1,606points, passing Tianna Hawkins (2010-13) with 1,595 career points and Jessie Hicks, who scored 1,601 from 1990-03. Next up is Lynetta Kizer (2008-12) with 1,621 career points. 
• Meyers now has 1,377 points in her career, with 947 in her three seasons of action at Princeton before joining the Terps this season. 
• Three other Terps also have 1,000 career points: Lavender Briggs (1,173), Brinae Alexander (1,104) and Elisa Pinzan (1,021). 

Double-Figures Update 

• With 14 points, Miller reached double-figures for the 28th time in 29 games played this season. She's recorded 10 points or more 83 times in her career of 112 games.
• Meyers netted 14 points for her 24th game in double-figures and her 75th on her career with 51 coming at Princeton. 
• With 11 points Friday, Lavender Briggs scored in double figures for the eighth time this season and 60th time in her career. 

B1G Time 

• The Terps are now 199-53 (.789) all-time against their Big Ten opponents. 
• Since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15, the Terrapins are 156-23 (.872) vs. their conference opponents, including their 20-3 record in the Big Ten Tournament. 
• In the 21 years under Frese, the Terps are 169-27 (.862) against their Big Ten opponents. 
• Frese is 182-32 (.850) all-time vs. Big Ten opponents, which includes her time at Minnesota and at Ball State. 
• The Terrapins are also 139-8 (.946) when they score 70 points or more in Big Ten games since 2014-15.
• Since their first year in the Big Ten, the Terps are 121-4 (.968) when holding their league opponents to 70 points or fewer.

Series History 

• Friday's matchup was the 14th all-time between Maryland and Illinois, with the Terps owning the series at 14-0.
• This was their first meeting in the Big Ten Tournament. 

Up Next

• Maryland will play No. 2-seeded Iowa Saturday at 5 p.m. ET in the Big Ten Semifinals at the Target Center in Minneapolis. 
• Top-seeded Indiana and fourth-seeded Ohio State will play at 2:30 p.m. ET in the first Semifinal.
• Both games will be televised on the Big Ten Network and the Fox Sports app.