The Terrapin women’s basketball team’s season ended once again with tears, but this time, they weren’t tears of joy. Any hopes of a repeat for the Terps promptly ended on the Hartford Civic Center floor far sooner than anyone had expected.
On Nov. 25, the Terps looked like a team primed to make another run for a national championship as they hammered Mississippi in the Bahamas.
Four months later, as the two teams met again Tuesday night, there were far more differences than just the frigid weather outside. Both teams were the antithesis of their former selves, as Ole Miss ousted the Terps 89-78 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Ole Miss looked like the champions, while the Terps were the team that appeared overmatched and under-prepared. The Rebels went on an 18-0 run early in the game, scoring the last 16 points off turnovers, to build themselves a lead that they refused to let go.
“All the credit goes to Ole Miss; they punished us in the first half, and each and every one of you saw that,” coach Brenda Frese said. “We couldn’t get our offense going, just like it’s been often times for us this season, and it affected our defense.”
On the off-day before the game, Ole Miss guard Armintie Price let the media know how her team planned on flipping the result of the match in November. The Rebels did just as she warned.
“We just want to get out there and brawl and make it ugly,” Price said. “That’s how we win most of the time. We make it ugly.”
Price and the Rebels’ relentless defense helped make the Terps look worse than just ugly. Ole Miss forced 20 first-half turnovers and buried the Terps into a 17-point halftime deficit that they could not overcome.
Whereas in the past the Terps overcame sloppy ball-handling, this time the Rebels made them pay by converting on 42 points off 29 total turnovers.
Good ball movement fueled their first round win against Harvard, but the Terps showed none of that Tuesday night. The Rebels trapped and triple-teamed, but the Terps could never find the open player.
“It looked like at points there were 12 of them out there,” said guard Kristi Toliver, who led the Terps with 24 points, but also had 10 turnovers. “They were extremely quick, athletic, and they were everywhere.”
The Terps’ poor play wasn’t as much of an anomaly as the Rebels’ points of strength. A team that shot 41 percent from the field came out on fire, hitting 55.6 percent of its shots in the first half.
To add to that, the Rebels were 24-for-27 from the free-throw line – a marked improvement on their 62.2 percent during the regular season.
That improved free-throw shooting came in handy as the Terps made one final surge at the end of the game. With two minutes, 23 seconds remaining, the deficit was cut to six points, but as Ole Miss continued to connect from the line, it was the closest the Terps would ever get.
While the Terps were the team that came in with the big-name players and great resume, it was the Rebels guards Price and Ashley Awkward that looked like the only All-Americans on the court. The duo combined for 50 points and 7 steals, and emotionally took over the game.
“I like to get after people and kind of claw their eyes out,” Price said before the game. “I just love defense; I love taking the ball away from people and getting in the passing lanes. I love how my team responds and has fun. I especially just try to feed off my teammates and try to get excited and get things going. That’s how we make plays; that’s how we get our points.”
Price’s prognosis of the game was spot-on. Although the Terps said they knew what to expect, maybe they should have taken the Rebels guard’s words more seriously.
“We expected everything, we just couldn’t handle it, senior Shay Doron said. “In a blink of an eye, just turnover, turnover, turnover, turnover, turnover, turnover.”
The game was especially emotional for Doron, whose career came to a close with 1:26 left to play in the game, as she was disqualified with five fouls.
“I’ve had a great four years, and I don’t regret anything. I came in here to make this program one of the top in this country,” Doron said. “And with a bunch of help, we’ve managed to do that. Now Maryland’s on the map, and it’s going to stay there for a long time. After I leave here and see them continue to succeed, I’ll know I played a big role in that.”
The Terps return everyone except Doron and seldom-used forward Aurelie Noirez next season, and the early tournament exit should serve as quite the motivation tool for Frese to use in the offseason.
The Terps played all season with a target on their back, and Tuesday night, the Rebels finally shot them down.
“We knew we were playing the defending champs, and we was excited,” Price said. “This time we were trying to win a championship.”
Contact reporter Mark Selig at mseligdbk@gmail.com
