The Terps fell in overtime despite making a miraculous comeback
No. 10 Maryland women’s basketball’s miracle comeback to force overtime against No. 10 Iowa sent all the fans who hadn’t left Xfinity Center early into a frenzy. For the second time this season, Maryland unleashed a highly improbable run from a double-digit deficit with a few minutes to play.
This time, it wasn’t enough to translate to a win. The Terps fell against the Hawkeyes in overtime, 85-78. Here are three takeaways from the game.
Maryland made a heroic comeback to force overtime…
With three minutes left, Maryland was in a 17-point hole, and it looked headed for back-to-back blowouts after getting dominated by UCLA in California.
Questions were starting to form about whether or not the team could remain competitive in the Big Ten after the litany of injuries suffered by players who were in line to be key contributors. As they proved during their wild comeback against Minnesota, though, this iteration of the Terps cannot be counted out.
It started with an Addi Mack and-one. The freshman guard was a revelation early in the season, but she has struggled to adjust to Big Ten play. Mack was scoreless until the moment she cut the lead to 14 points with a tough finish through contact.
Then, two other players who had been silent made plays. Oluchi Okananwa grabbed a steal and drew a foul, then Saylor Poffenbarger forced a turnover and knocked down her first points of the game with a 3-pointer.
All of a sudden, the difference was single digits. One minute — and another Poffenbarger three — later, it was down to six points. Just over a minute remained.
“You never want to be in those situations, [but] we gave ourselves a chance,” guard Kyndal Walker said.
Then, it seemed that Iowa had steadied its ship. The Hawkeyes converted some free throws and looked ready to finish the victory in regular time — until they turned it over twice more on back-to-back possessions. Two more free throws from Okananwa landed, and Maryland was one point away.
Kylie Feuerbach hit a clutch pair of free throws for the Hawkeyes with 20 seconds to go, ensuring Maryland could need a 3-pointer to tie. Despite struggling for three-and-a-half quarters, the ball went to Okananwa on the wing. She lined up the three and nailed it.
“Look, it was approaching a blowout when we were down 17,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. “To be able to fight and claw, I think that’s the beauty of this locker room, their mentality.”
Maryland brought itself back from the dead to send the game to overtime.
… but were too shorthanded to finish the job
Before the jumpball to begin the game’s final five minutes, Xfinity Center was the loudest it had been all night. The momentum was firmly behind the Terps. Meanwhile, Iowa’s players looked like they could barely process the fact that they had to play more basketball.
Still, Maryland was in a tough spot. They had to win five minutes of basketball against the No. 10 team in the country.
They entered the overtime period down Yarden Garzon, who was having an efficient offensive night before she fouled out with over five minutes to go.
“I thought we dug ourselves in too big of a hole, when you talk about getting to overtime,” Frese said. “The foul trouble was really, really impactful.”
The ball went straight to Okananwa, who took a patented tough drive to the basket and acrobatically finished through two defenders.
With 3:37 on the clock and both teams off to a slow start, Okananwa bumped Iowa guard Chit-Chat Wright trying to chase her own missed shot, picking up her fifth foul.
From there, Maryland was out of options offensively. Center Isi Ozzy-Momodu was the Terps’ leading scorer with 18 points, but she kept having to come in and out of the game with cramps.
“I thought Isi and Kyndal were the bright spots,” Frese said. “Isi is still cramping [40 minutes after the game], so they emptied the tank.”
Conversely, Ava Heiden — Iowa’s No. 1 offensive option — fought while playing with four fouls to come up with a couple clutch buckets. At the same time, Maryland went scoreless for over two minutes.
The Terps eventually fell for the third time in four games.
Iowa had a good defensive gameplan
The reason the Terps were down 17 points to begin with was that Maryland entered the fourth quarter having scored just 39 points. Despite doing a good job slowing down Iowa’s offense, Maryland had one combined point from three of its starters – Okananwa, Poffenbarger, and Mack.
Some of that can be attributed to those players having off nights. All three had a couple looks at 3-pointers that were at least somewhat open, and they just didn’t have their shooting stroke. But Iowa also came out with a solid defensive scout and preparation for Maryland’s biggest threats – particularly Okananwa.
She is a capable shooter but is always looking primarily to get downhill. Knowing this, Iowa decided to play a step or two away from her. Then, they collapsed multiple defenders when Okananwa would drive to the basket.
If Maryland had enough consistent outside shooting threats, it could have made Iowa pay for that strategy. It was a gamble the Hawkeyes were willing to take, and it paid off, as Maryland finished just 5-of-21 from beyond the arc.
“That’s a tough night from three,” Frese said. “We have to find other ways.”
One contributing factor to Maryland’s lack of shooting was the absence of Rainey Welson, who missed her second straight game due to a concussion.
Category: General Sports
