Playing For Each Other

Maryland led by just one point at 109-108 with just 16 seconds to play in double overtime after a pull-up jumper in the paint by Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker. 

The No. 4 seeded Terps were in a back-and-forth game against the No. 5 seeded Crimson Tide in the NCAA Tournament Second Round on March 24. The game featured six lead changes and 12 instances where it was tied. But something had to give.  

Shyanne Sellers was subsequently fouled. With the Terps in the double bonus, she stepped to the free-throw line with a chance to be one of the heroes and help send Maryland to its fourth Sweet 16 appearance in the past five years. In the last game of her career at XFINITY Center, Sellers connected on both attempts from the charity stripe.

Alabama then raced up the court and got off a 3-pointer, as it looked to tie the game and send it to a third overtime. It missed, but the ball remained with the Crimson Tide after a Maryland player hit the loose ball out of bounds. 

With 1.8 seconds left, the Crimson Tide drew up a play for Barker — who had a school-record 45 points in the game. However, the inbound pass to her was cut off and stolen by Sarah Te-Biasu. The Terps then celebrated their 17th Sweet 16 appearance in program history on their home court, winning 111-108.  

“It was really a fight,” Te Biasu said. “We went double overtime, but we just kept playing for each other the whole game. … The third and fourth quarters were a little bit tough for us, but we never gave up, and we just kept fighting.”

The Terps trailed by as many as 17 points (62-45) at the 3:28 mark of the third quarter. The win equaled the fourth-largest comeback in an NCAA women's basketball Tournament game since 2018 and the largest of this year's tournament. It was the largest comeback for Maryland in any game since 2019 at James Madison, when the Terps trailed by 19 points and won 70-68 on Nov. 13. 

The game was also the second-highest-scoring in Women's NCAA Tournament history. With a combined 219 points, only a 1995 game between Alabama and Duke resulted in four overtimes, and a combined 241 points (121-120) netted more. The Crimson Tide came out on the winning end and advanced to the Sweet 16. However, this time it was the Terps that kept dancing. 

Maryland also improved to 17-4 in overtime games in Brenda Frese's 23 years as Maryland’s head coach. The phrase “Overtime is Our Time!" became one of the catchphrases from the Terps' 2006 NCAA title run. That 2005-06 team went 6-0 in overtime games and won the national title in extra time against Duke.

“You just continue to instill as much energy, positivity [and] confidence [as you can],” Frese said regarding her message to the team. “Went in there the first time, overtime is our time. I knew they were tired but just needed to dig in even further. These guys played really, really heavy minutes, and then especially to come from 17 down, what that took to come back into this fold.”

Te-Biasu scored 15 of her season-high 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to add to her six assists, four rebounds and three steals. She shot 5-of-8 from the floor during that stretch, including 3-of-3 from the 3-point line. Her first of the three threes occurred with 12 seconds left in regulation, tying the game and sending it to overtime with each team knotted at 83 points.

The graduate student’s second was the first bucket of the second overtime, putting the Terps ahead 99-96 just nine seconds into the period. Te-Biasu's third and final 3-pointer was at the 1:57 mark of the second overtime. The big-time bucket put the Terps ahead 106-100. The six-point advantage was the largest by either team in overtime and helped the Terps close out the victory. Despite the back-and-forth affair, Maryland never trailed at any point in each overtime period. 

“I think I really wanted to win so I was just trying to play the best that I can every possession,” Te-Biasu said. “I just wanted to win. That's the mentality. Everybody on the team, we wanted to win and we just never gave up.”

Sellers, named All-Big Ten First Team for the third straight season, also scored a season-high. She tallied 16 of her 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods. The senior did most of her damage from the free-throw line, as she went 9-of-9 from the charity stripe during that stretch. 

Overall, Te-Biasu and Shyanne Sellers combined for 19 of Maryland’s 28 points in overtime. They were the major contributors alongside Allie Kubek (19 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists), Kaylene Smikle (24 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) and Mir McLean (8 points, 10 rebounds).

More impressively, Sellers played the entire fourth quarter and overtime periods with four fouls. She subbed out of the game with 3:44 left in the fourth and didn’t return until overtime. However, she says she remained confident despite knowing her collegiate career could end with her on the bench. She poured into her teammates and trusted them to get the job done. 

“I know I was frustrated when I got my fourth foul,” Sellers said. “Pouring it into them really helped me get out of it. You just hope that your team can make a run, and that's exactly what they did. Honestly, I kind of knew they would.”

Maryland will play No. 1 seed South Carolina in the Sweet 16 in Birmingham, Alabama. The game will tip at 5 pm EST on March 28.