During warmups before Sunday’s Big Ten finals, Terrapins women’s basketball forward Tierney Pfirman watched guard Chloe Pavlech connect on shot after shot. So Pfirman challenged the defensive stopper to shoot when she was open against Michigan State.
Pavlech obliged.
The senior averages 2.3 points per game, but she nailed two 3-pointers and finished the game with eight points, all of which came in a first half in which the Terps shot 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) from the field. While she did not attempt a shot after intermission, her unlikely offensive performance kept the Terps close in the first half en route to a 60-44 win.
“That sort of carried over, and my teammates kept giving me confidence,” Pavlech said. “I knew since they were sagging off of me and doubling [center Brionna Jones], so that would help get her open if I knocked down a couple of shots.”
Despite shooting 30.6 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from three this season, Pavlech didn’t hesitate when guard Kristen Confroy found her for an open shot from the left corner less than three minutes into the game.
Pavlech took one dribble and unloaded her shot. The attempt flew over the hoop into the hands of Spartans forward Aerial Powers. With the Terps down 2-0, Pavlech jogged back to play defense.
Even after the air ball, she didn’t shy away from shooting on the Terps’ next possession. Pavlech again received a pass in the left corner, but this time she stood behind the arc. The Spartans didn’t even attempt to come out and contest her, so Pavlech let another shot fly and drilled the 3-pointer.
Later in the quarter, guard Brene Moseley found Pavlech on the break. The pass sailed a little long, but Pavlech corralled it, using her body control to stay in bounds before finishing the layup.
By far the lowest scorer in the Terps’ rotation, Pavlech led the team with five points after the opening 10 minutes.
“It was huge,” said Pfirman, who also finished with eight points. “Every player steps up when their team is there, and just have her confident enough to shoot the ball — because she can knock anything down — so seeing her in her comfort zone, it was incredible.”
Pavlech drilled another 3-pointer before intermission, giving her nearly half of the Terps’ first-half field goals. But during the break, coach Brenda Frese challenged the Cincinnati, Ohio, native and the rest of the squad to shut down Spartans guard Tori Jankoska, who scored 10 points in the first half.
The rest of the game, Pavlech helped force Jankoska into missing her final seven shots as the Terps pulled away after trailing 26-24 at halftime.
It was yet another way Pavlech contributed to the team’s second straight conference tournament championship.
“Her energy was terrific,” Frese said. “I thought both ends of the floor, she was critical to our success tonight.”
