RALEIGH, N.C. – No matter how dire the situation seemed for the Terrapin women’s basketball team Saturday, Marissa Coleman simply was not going to let her career end.

With the No. 1-seeded Terps struggling in their regional semifinal against No. 4 seed Vanderbilt, the senior forward decided to lift her team up, carrying it to the finish line on her powerful shoulders.

Despite trailing for all but the final 2:07 and by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Terps outlasted the Commodores for a 78-74 victory on the strength of Coleman’s 15 rebounds and program-record 42 points.

“You get caught up as a coach,” coach Brenda Frese said. “I knew, obviously she was dominating. But I looked up on the scoreboard and saw 41 right before she hit her free throw for 42, and I mean, man. If she’s not named an All-American, that’s an injustice.”

With the game tied at 74 with 42 seconds remaining, Coleman drove right, quickly dribbled to the middle of the lane and converted one of her many high-arching contested jumpers, giving the Terps the lead for good.

After a miss by Vanderbilt’s Christina Wirth, Coleman fought for the crucial rebound, was fouled and converted both free throws to seal the Terps’ second straight Sweet 16 win against the Commodores.

Coleman’s 42 points are the most ever in a women’s basketball NCAA Tournament regional semifinal game and the most ever in the 10-year history of the RBC Center, surpassing Davidson guard Stephen Curry’s 40 points in last season’s NCAA Tournament against Gonzaga.

“I enjoy playing with my teammates,” Coleman said. “I love wearing a Maryland uniform, so I’m gonna do whatever I can to make this last as long as possible.”

As the final buzzer sounded, Coleman, who played the entire 40 minutes, crouched on the floor before gingerly walking over to the sideline and a much-deserved standing ovation by the vocal Terps’ fans in attendance.

“I’ve had some good games,” Coleman said. “I don’t know if I’ve had as good as today, but I didn’t want my career to end. That’s just what I told myself. Every time I walked onto the floor I was going to defend, rebound and do what I needed to do to keep my career here going.”

Vanderbilt started hot, taking a quick 12-2 lead after a Wirth 3-pointer just barely three minutes into the game. Wirth continued her hot shooting matched up against Terp center Lynetta Kizer, finishing with 12 first-half points.

Despite the Terps’ size disadvantage, the Commodores four-guard lineup caused matchup issues both offensively and defensively for the Terps throughout the first 15 minutes of the game.

“We went small quite a lot throughout the game,” Frese said. “Especially with the lead they jumped out too, we felt like that was going to be an area we needed to focus on.”

Guard Jennifer Risper, at just 5-foot-9, frustrated Coleman and Toliver with her scrappy defensive play and scored seven points of her own in the half. The Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year stripped Terp guards who penetrated the lane and came away with numerous deflections.

With 13:41 remaining in the first half, Toliver was called for her second foul when Wirth drew a charge. That meant the Terps, trailing 14-6 and lacking rhythm on offense, would be without their best shooter for most of the half.

“In the first half, when Kristi went out with two fouls, I had to step it up as far as being more aggressive on the offensive end and leading my team,” Coleman said. “In the second half, I saw heads were hanging down, but we still had a lot of time left in the game. When I bring energy, the rest of my team feeds off of it.”

Even with Coleman’s best effort, the Terps season looked as if it was slipping away. With 5:17 remaining in the first half, the Terps were trailing 37-20.

But Coleman wouldn’t stand for it.

Frese’s team went on a 16-2 run to end the half. Coleman drew fouls, hit fadeaway jumpers while tightly guarded and forced turnovers on the defensive end.

The senior from Cheltenham, Md., brought the Terps to within three points at the half, scoring 19 and grabbing six rebounds in the process.

But most of the Terps’ big run occurred with both Wirth and Risper on the Vandy bench with two fouls each.

Despite getting within two points with 14:24 remaining in the second half after a Coleman 3-pointer, Risper continued to harass the Terps’ two star players. Wirth, who scored 28 points, kept hitting big shots.

Risper stole the ball cleanly from a frustrated Toliver with 12:27 remaining. Toliver committed her third foul by grabbing Risper and holding her back from a potential fast break layup, and swung her arm in frustration while going to the bench.

But afterward, Toliver said the Terps weren’t worried by the large deficit, citing past big comebacks and her and Coleman’s considerable experience.

“We’ve been through everything possible,” Toliver said. “We’ve been down 18 before and came back. I think just the poise and composure is something we both have.”

The Terps gradually worked the deficit down. Trailing 68-57 with just fewer than seven minutes remaining, Coleman scored seven straight points. The day’s brightest offensive star also demanded to guard Wirth for the stretch run, shutting down the Vanderbilt star who had been burying the Terps.

Toliver, who finished with 17 points, helped the Terps (31-4) to their first lead of the game with 2:07 left by assisting forward Dee Liles on a pick and roll. Toliver also made a layup with 57 seconds left to give the Terps a brief two-point advantage before Wirth tied the game at 74 with two free throws.

Then Coleman continued her dominance in the game’s final sequence, stretching her career to at least one more game – tonight’s Raleigh Regional Final against No. 3-seeded Louisville.

For those in attendance, Coleman’s performance and the Terps’ comeback might have been a surprise.

But for other Terps, such as guard Marah Strickland, it was only a matter of time.

“I am a lucky teammate that gets to practice with her every day, so I know that she has that, and I’ve watched her during games,” Strickland said. “I’ve seen her do that several times – just dominate. Eventually I knew Marissa was going to get the ball, and Marissa was gonna go to work.”

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