INDIANAPOLIS – No. 4 seed and 15th-ranked Maryland women's basketball was defeated in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals by No. 5 Seed Michigan, 98-71, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday. The Terps are 23-7 overall heading into the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on March 16. It will occur at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN.
Maryland was primed to overcome a 25-point deficit, which would've been its largest in program history and tied for the fifth largest in NCAA women's basketball history. Michigan (22-9) sparked a 25-0 run to lead by as many as 25 points (31-6) at the 8:02 mark in the second quarter. However, after
Sarah Te-Biasu drilled a 3-pointer to halt the run, Maryland sparked a run of its own — a 16-0 run that cut the deficit to single digits (33-25 at 3:39). It outscored Michigan 31-14 in the second frame after being outscored in the first, 27-6. The Terps then trailed by just four, 41-37.
Still, the Terps were never able to establish a lead. It trailed by as little as one point (36-35) with 1:26 left to play in the first half after Te-Biasu drilled a 3-pointer. The Wolverines reestablished a 20+-point lead by sparking a 13-2 run it ended the third quarter riding. That run was the difference maker for Michigan, as it never trailed by less than 17 points from that point on.
Te-Biasu scored 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-9 shooting from three overall. The graduate student scored 16 of he points in the second quarter alone, which outscored Michigan's output for its entire team. This was the 20th twenty-point game of her career between Maryland and her four seasons at VCU.
Christina Dalce added a career-high 19 points to go along with four rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting.
Mir McLean also had a strong performance off the bench, chipping in 10 points and five rebounds.
Dattling foul trouble for the majority of the game, Kaylene Smikle scored 10 points while grabbing five rebounds.
The Wolverines were led by their trio of Jordan Hobbs (23 points), Syla Swords (22 points) and Olivia Olson (20 points).
Breaking Down The Action
- Michigan sparked a 9-0 run to lead 15-6 at the 15:14 media timeout, making its last four shots from the field.
- The Wolverines extended their run to 21-0, leading 21-6 at the end of the first.
- The Michigan run lasted 25 unanswered, but Maryland responded with a 9-0 run and trailed 33-18 at the 4:54 media timeout of the second quarter. Sarah Te-Biasu scored five of the points and led the way with eight points overall.
- The Terps rallied all the way back to trail 41-37 at halftime, even cutting the deficit to one point after a three by Te-Biasu with 1:26 left in the half. The graduate guard had 16 points in the game, all occurring in the second frame. She outscored Michigan's second quarter scoring output (14 points) on her own.
- The Terps called a timeout at 4:09 in the third. The Wolverine stretched their lead back to 12 with back-to-back triples. Christina Dalce joined Te-Biasu in the double-figure scoring column.
- The Wolverines ended the third on a 13-2 run to lead 64-49. They re-established their 20-point advantage, and the Terps faced a hill to climb.
- Michigan cruised to victory, never trailing by less than 17 in the fourth.
Double-Figure Factors
- Sarah Te-Biasu scored 25 points, her 92nd double-digit score in a game and 12th in double figures as a Terp. She leads the Terps in career double-digit scoring games.
- Christina Dalce provided 19 points for her 36th career game in double figures. She has scored in double figures in 12 games this season.
- Mir McLean scored 10 points. It was her 24th game scoring 10 or more points and her third as a Terp.
- Kaylene Smikle scored 10 points, her 65th career double-figure game. This was her 27th game netting double-digit points as a Terp. She leads the Terps this season in double-figure scoring games.
All Big Ten Honorees
- 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.
- Junior Kaylene Smikle was named to the First Team by the media and 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.
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 is 13th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1626 points. Next on the list is Marcia Richardson, who scored 1,630 from 1979-84.
- The point guard is also third on the all-time assists list, having 514 in her career. Next on the list is Debbie Lytle (583 from 1980-83).
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.
- 15: Maryland is ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press poll.
- 19: Dalce scored a career-high 19 points.
- 20: Te-Biasu scored her 20th career 20-point game.
- 27: Smike has scored double figures in 27 of 30 games this season.
Up Next
- The Terps await their NCAA Tournament fate. The Selection Show is on March 16 at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN. Updates regarding opponent, seeding, game time and location will be available on umterps.com.
