UMD Guard Brene Moseley drives the ball down the court during Maryland’s game against American University on Dec. 12, 2014.
With the shot clock winding down in a 73-73 game Sunday, Terrapins women’s basketball guard Brene Moseley didn’t settle for a long jump shot.
“I was just trying to attack,” Moseley said. “I just wanted to be able to get to the line and get a better opportunity.”
The redshirt junior, who entered the game averaging 5.3 minutes per game in conference play, dribbled past her defender and drew a foul on Minnesota center Amanda Zahui B. with 2.8 seconds remaining in the contest.
Moseley calmly knocked down two free throws to seal the No. 12 Terps’ 77-73 victory over No. 23 Minnesota in a back-and-forth battle in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Moseley’s 15 points off the bench keyed the Terps’ fourth straight win to open Big Ten play.
Thursday night in College Park it was guard Chloe Pavlech who provided the spark off the bench to help the Terps (13-2, 4-0 Big Ten) dismantle Purdue. Sunday, it was Moseley’s turn.
The Burtonsville native, who didn’t play in the first half, came off the bench in the second half to knock down three straight 3-pointers before finishing with 15 points on 4 of 4 shooting from the floor.
“Her number was called, and she was ready to play,” coach Brenda Frese said. “It doesn’t surprise me. When we recruited Brene, it reminded me of a time when we went on the road in a big, hostile environment, and she wanted every moment of it.”
Guard Lexie Brown, who has experienced a slight dip in her production since conference play started, led the way for the Terps starters. The sophomore recorded 20 points while adding seven assists and four steals.
On Saturday, Brown sat down with Frese, who told her star point guard that the Gophers’ zone would leave wide-open threes for her. She had knocked down 3 of 10 attempts in the first 39 minutes of action and with the game knotted at 70 apiece, Brown sunk her 11th attempt of the day to give her team a three-point lead.
“Lexie led with her confidence,” Frese said. “Wanting to take the final shot was fearless.”
The Terps needed the offensive contributions from their guards because they didn’t have an answer for Zahui B. at either end of the floor. The 6-foot-5 sophomore went 11 of 15 from the floor to lead all scorers with 26 points, and she pulled down 15 rebounds.
Center Brionna Jones (11 points) found some success against Zahui B., but she was sidelined with foul trouble for periods during the second half. Zahui B. controlled the paint with four blocks and added three steals.
“We knew that she wants to block shots,” Brown said. “If I was that size, I’d want to block shots too.”
With Jones sitting on the bench, Zahui B. capitalized on the offensive end by knocking down a pair of free throws and two jump shots to key a solo 6-0 run to knot the game at 70-70 with 1:10 remaining in the game.
Even when Brown drilled the 3-pointer at the other end, the Gophers (14-2, 3-1) responded with a long ball of their own to force another tie with 33 seconds left.
That’s when Moseley, who had provided the initial spark with her 3-pointers earlier in the half, drove to the bucket to earn the game-winning trip to the charity stripe.
Moseley’s effort off the bench helped Frese pick up a win in her return to Minnesota, where she coached for the 2001-02 season, and helped the Terps remain unbeaten in conference play.
“To have a team like this when we get in tough games, I’m never really worried because I know we have so much to throw at other teams,” Brown said.
