COLLEGE PARK, MD – The No. 4 seed and 18th-ranked Maryland women's basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round after defeating No. 13 seed Norfolk State, 82-69, in the first round at XFINITY Center on Saturday. The Terps are now 24-7 overall this season and 42-18 in NCAA Tournament games under head coach
Brenda Frese. Frese is also 19-1 in first-round NCAA Tournament games.
Maryland will play No. 5 seed Alabama in the second round on Monday, March 24. The game time and streaming platform will be announced.
Norfolk State (30-5) led Maryland 32-30 at halftime, but the Terps outscored the Spartans 30-20 in the third to lead 60-52 entering the final frame.
Sarah Te-Biasu got the Terps' offense clicking with back-to-back 3-pointers, and they never looked back. Maryland led for the remainder of the game, although Norfolk State fought to make it a two-possession game early in the fourth. It outscored the Spartans 22-17 in the final frame to put a stamp on the win.
Te-Biasu was dominant in the second half. She ended the game with a game-high 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three. However, 16 of her points occurred in the second half. She added three assists and three rebounds to her stat line and earned her fifth 20+ point game of the season.
All-Big Ten First Team selection Kaylene Smikle was the other Terp who led the second-half surge. She scored 18 of her 21 points in the final 20 minutes. Overall, she shot 9-of-9 from the charity stripe and 2-for-2 from. Smike has scored double figures in 28 of 31 games this season. She even added two rebounds to her already impressive stat line. This was her 12th 20+ point outing of the season.
Allie Kubek posted 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists. She shot 7-of-11 in the contest and reached double-digits in the first alone.
Shyanne Sellers, Maryland's other First Team All-Big Ten honoree, scored 12 points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists.
As a team, Maryland shot 23-of-25 from the free throw line. That's the highest free throw percentage by a Big Ten women's basketball team in a NCAA Tournament game in the last 15 seasons (min 25 attempts).
The Spartans were led by Kierra Wheeler's 20 points and seven rebounds. Diamond Johnson, the HBCU Player of the Year and WNBA prospect added 18 points and six rebounds, but she was limited to just two points in the second half. The Terps snapped the Spartans' 19 game win streak entering the game.
This is the Terrapins' 15th straight NCAA Tournament bid, dating back to 2011. It's their 21st NCAA bid overall under Frese in her 23 seasons in College Park. This is also Maryland's 16th top-four seed under Frese. Maryland is now 54-30 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
Frese's Take
"Tremendous win, especially the second half. We knew Norfolk State was going to come out and be fearless. They had won 19 straight and hadn't lost a game. We knew Diamond Johnson is a really, really good player. She showed that throughout the entire game. Anticipated the press early. I just thought we came out really tight. You saw that in the first half. We had to work through those jitters on both ends of the floor, stop turning the basketball over, which helped us in the second half."
From The Girls
"I would say probably like the Oregon game," Te-Biasu said regarding when everything clicked. "That game I felt like I was confident. And I was confident, and it just kind of clicked. And sometimes you just got to make adjustments. I came to Big Ten, it's different. But my teammate was there to give me confidence and then also the coaches. Coach Brenda believed in me, and I was just like okay. Just adjust and just play basketball."
Breaking Down The Action
- Maryland trailed 10-8 at the first media timeout (4:48). Christina Dalce (five points) and Allie Kubek (three points) led the Terps with a combined six points in the paint.
- The Terps led 18-12 at the end of the first quarter. They trailed 7-0 to begin the game but ended the frame on an 18-5 run. Over the last 4:28, the Terps sparked a 10-0 run. Kubek had eight points to lead the Terps.
- The Spartans returned the favor with a 7-0 run to take a 21-20 lead at 6:02 in the second. Shyanne Sellers then hit a midrange jumper to give the Terps back their lead heading into the 4:50 media timeout.
- Maryland trailed 32-30 at the break. Norfolk's Diamond Johnson hit a 3-pointer that Sarah Te-Biasu answered with 48 seconds left on the clock. Johnson had a game-high 16 points.
- Te-Biasu got the Terps going with back-to-back threes to begin the second half. The threes allowed Maryland to stay in control for the rest of the quarter. It led 60-52 entering the final quarter.
- Norfolk State scored two straight buckets to begin the fourth to make it a two-possession game — 60-56. Maryland called a timeout to regroup.
- Threes by Te-Biasu and Kaylene Smikle put the Terps back up by eight at the 7:14 mark. The 3-pointers kept raining, and Maryland led 72-58 with just over five to play.
- Maryland outscored Norfolk State 22-17 in the final frame and put a stamp on its victory.
Double-Figure Factors
- Sarah Te-Biasu scored 22 points, her 93rd double-digit score in a game and 13th in double figures as a Terp. She leads the Terps in career double-digit scoring games.
- Kaylene Smikle scored 21 points, her 66th career double-figure game. This was her 28th game netting double-digit points as a Terp. She leads the Terps this season in double-figure scoring games.
- Allie Kubek scored 16 points and earned her 61st career game in double figures. She has scored in double figures 13 times this season.
- Shyanne Sellers scored 12 points, recording her 91st career game in double figures. She has scored double figures in 24 games this season.
Terps In The Dance
- This is the Terrapins' 15th straight NCAA Tournament bid, dating back to 2011. It's their 21st NCAA bid overall under Brenda Frese in her 23 seasons in College Park. This is also Maryland's 16th top-four seed under Frese.
- Maryland is now 54-30 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 42-18 under Frese. Frese is also 19-1 in first-round NCAA Tournament games.
- The Terps are 23-4 in NCAA Tournament games at the XFINITY Center.
- Frese has led the Terrapins to 21 NCAA Tournament bids in her 23 postseasons so far. The Terrapins have advanced to 11 Sweet Sixteens, seven Elite Eights, three Final Fours and the 2006 NCAA Championship under her.
Frese Fuels Greatness
- Brenda Frese, the 2021 AP and ESPN National Coach of the Year, earned her 600th career win as Maryland's head coach at Oregon on Feb. 6. She has the most wins in Maryland basketball history with 606 wins.
- Frese is now 606-168 in her career at Maryland. In 26 seasons as a head coach, Frese is 663-198. Frese's career-winning percentage of .770 is No. 1 among Division I coaches all-time.
- In her 23 postseasons, Frese has led the Terrapins to 21 NCAA Tournament appearances. Under her leadership, the Terrapins have advanced to 11 Sweet 16s, seven Elite Eights, three Final Fours and the 2006 NCAA Championship. She has also won 14 conference titles.
Sellers On The Charts
- Shyanne Sellers is the only player in program history to have 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a career.
- Sellers moved to 12th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1638 points. She passed Marcia Richardson, who scored 1,630 from 1979-84. Next on the list is Christy Winters, who scored 1,679 points from 1987-90.
- The point guard is also third on the all-time assists list, having 517 in her career. Next on the list is Debbie Lytle (583 from 1980-83).
Home Sweet Home
- Maryland has been a dominant home team, especially over the last decade. The Terps are 619-146 all-time in College Park, dating back to the inaugural 1971-72 season.
- Maryland is 325-51 at home under Brenda Frese, whose first season in College Park was the inaugural season of the XFINITY Center.
- The Terrapins are 179-12 all-time in non-conference games in XFINITY Center.
Postseason Honors
- Senior Shyanne Sellers was named a First Team honoree by the media and coaches. Sellers, who was a Preseason All-Big Ten honoree, earned First Team honors from the media for the third straight season. She also earned AP All-America Honorable Mention Honors.
- Junior Kaylene Smikle was named to the First Team by the media and the Second Team by the coaches. This was her first time being named to the first team, as she made the coach and media's second team in 2023-24 at Rutgers.
- Junior Bri McDaniel earned Honorable Mention honors from the media. She averaged 10.6 points per game in her 17 games played this season before suffering a season-ending injury. It was her second straight season receiving the honor.
- Graduate student Sarah Te-Biasu earned a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. She was last year's Atlantic 10 Player of the Year at VCU.
Numbers And Nuggets To Know
- 1: Sellers is the only player in program history to have 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
- 3: Sellers is third on the program's all-time assists list.
- 5: Te-Biasu has five 20-point games this season.
- 12: Smikle has 12 twenty-point games this season.
- 13: Te-Biasu 13 straight games with a 3PM, tied for the longeset active streak in the Big Ten.
- 15: This is the Terrapins' 15th straight NCAA Tournament bid, dating back to 2011.
- 16: This is Maryland's 16th top-four seed under Frese.
- 18: Maryland is ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press poll.
- 18: When Smikle and Sellers each score at least 10 points, Maryland is 18-2 this season.
- 19: Frese is 19-1 in first-round NCAA Tournament games.
- 21: This is Maryland's 21st NCAA bid overall under Frese in her 23 seasons in College Park.
- 21: Te-Biasu scored her 21st career 20-point game.
- 24: Maryland has won the rebounding battle in 24 of 31 games this season. It is 22-2 when winning the rebounding battle.
- 28: Smike has scored double figures in 28 of 31 games this season.
- 30: The Terrapins have won 30 straight games when leading at the start of the fourth quarter. They are 66-1 over the last three seasons and 252-3 since they moved to quarters in 2015-16.
- 42: Maryland is 42-18 in NCAA Tournament games under Frese.
- 94: The Terps are 94-3 over the last four seasons when leading with 5:00 to play.
- Over the last six seasons, the Terps are 107-7 when they score 80 points or more.
- 606: This was Frese's 606th victory as a head coach at Maryland.
Up Next
- Maryland will play No. 5 seed Alabama in the second round on Monday, March 24. The game time and streaming platform will be announced.
