With a potential rematch against Connecticut looming, Maryland seemingly may have overlooked No. 10 seed Oregon.
The scorching hot Ducks sent the Lady Terrapins home with a 77-63 loss on Saturday. Maryland had been to the Final Four in two of the past three seasons.
Oregon held Maryland to a zero percent showing from three and forced a tournament-high 21 turnovers.
Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough each scoring 16 points. Jones had another double-double as she also grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
Shots wouldn’t fall for anyone at the start as the score was knotted at two nearly four minutes in. The Ducks started running at that point and the Terps eventually couldn’t keep up.
Jones couldn’t even get going inside because of the stifling defense against Maryland. The duo finished with 125 wins during their time in College Park, just one shy of the record held by Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman.
Oregon took a 36-27 into halftime after freshman Sabrina Ionescu hit a big three with 34 seconds left in the first half.
Maryland did come out strong in the third quarter as they cut the deficit to 40-37. Walker-Kimbrough scored six points during that stretch, including a pair from the free throw line.
With 2:41 left in the quarter, Oregon’s Lexi Bando connected on a three to give the Ducks a 53-41 lead. The 12-point advantage was their largest of the game.
The deficit just seemed to be too much for the Terps to overcome.
The team had been constantly reiterating how they did not want this year’s class to feel like last years, who left after a second round upset by Washington in College Park. This year’s team did get an extra game, but is still leaving on a somber note after another upset knocks them out.
The team managed to shoot 45 percent, but only had 57 attempts because of the turnovers forced trying to get the ball inside. Maryland also shot 0-of-6 from three-point range, compared to 6-of-15 for Oregon.
Ionescu and Bando hit the gut-wrenching shots from deep, combining for 31 points. They were complimented by freshman Ruthy Hebard, who added 16 points and eight boards while keeping Jones in check.
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Brenda Frese and company will return everyone except for Jones and Walker-Kimbrough next season. The Terps have a promising future, but still have some holes that need to be filled going forward.