Washington came into Monday’s second round matchup against Maryland as sure underdogs.
This was a Huskie team that won their first NCAA Tournament game since 2006 on Saturday when they defeated Penn. Their inexperience didn’t seem to phase them as they defeated No. 2 seed Maryland 74-65 on Monday evening.
In addition, they haven’t made it to the Sweet 16 since 1995.
“The better team won tonight,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “I thought Washington’s length and size gave us some problems.”
The Huskies top performer was junior guard Kelsey Plum. The nation’s fourth leading scorer finished with 32 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Senior forward Talia Walton had 20 points and was 4-of-11 from beyond the arc.
Center Chantel Osahor registered nine points and 15 rebounds.
Washington didn’t shoot the ball well as they shot 39 percent from the field. However, the Huskies did get to the free throw line quite a bit as they were 20-of-22 from the charity stripe.
The game opened with Maryland taking an early 8-2 lead. Washington then came back by going on a 13-0 run and took a 19-11 at the end of the first quarter. In the second, the Terps outscored the Huskies 23-10 and went into halftime with a 34-29 advantage.
Washington completely dominated Maryland in the third quarter. The Huskies went on a 16-4 run and managed to outscore the Terps 20-8.
Maryland tried to come back in the fourth quarter as they cut Washington’s lead to 52-49 during the early parts of the quarter. But that wasn’t enough. Washington went on a 21-6 run that officially put them in the win column.
“It was a game of runs,” Frese said. “They had more runs than us.”
In that final quarter, Plum really hurt the Terps. Washington’s all-time leading scorer tallied 14 points in the quarter and converted nine free throws.
“At times, we let her get going with a couple and one’s and plays in transition,” Maryland sophomore guard Kristen Confroy said. “I thought we did a good job containing her since most of her points came from the free throw line. We could have been more discipline down the stretch.”
Maryland struggled to find some offensive consistency throughout the game. The Terps shot 37.3 percent (25-of-67) from the field and 35.7 percent from beyond the arc. In their last game against Iona, the Terps got to the free throw line 19 times.
On Monday, Maryland only went to the line five times.
“We never got into a flow of the game offensively,” Terps senior Malina Howard said. “We just weren’t ourselves on offense.”
Guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored a team high 17 points and picked up 11 rebounds. Walker-Kimbrough only scored six points in the first half but picked up her play in the second half, scoring 11 points.
“I got aggressive in the second half,” Walker-Kimbrough said. “I should have been that aggressive in the first half but I can’t take that back.”
Senior Brene Moseley came off the bench and put up 16 points and was 6-of-19 from the field. Tierney Pfirman had 10 points while Kristen Confroy chipped in 11 points.
Maryland’s bench did outscore Washington’s bench 26-6. Once again, turnovers hurt Maryland as they committed 15.
Monday’s lost was a real heartbreaker for the Terps especially for the seniors, who wanted to end their college career on a high note.
“It hurts a lot,” Malina Howard said. “Our four seniors wanted to come in and have the best season we could. This is not how I wanted it to end.”
Howard will still always remember the memories she had playing for Maryland like going to back to back Final Fours and Big Ten Championships.
Next: A look at Kansas' season
“I’m glad I got the opportunity to play here and wear a Maryland jersey for four years,” Howard proclaimed.