Attacker Brooke Griffin heads towards the net in the Terps’ 11-10 loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament semifinals in Piscataway, New Jersey, on May 1, 2015.

In two instances during Friday night’s Big Ten tournament semifinal loss to Ohio State, the Terrapins women’s lacrosse team used a different strategy with its free-position shots.

Two minutes into the game, attacker Megan Whittle pulled back from her stance and whipped a pass toward attacker Brooke Griffin on the crease. Griffin ripped her shot into the back of the net to give the No. 1 Terps an early lead in their eventual 11-10 loss.

In the opening minutes of the second period, midfielder Zoe Stukenberg passed the ball out of the circle rather than moving toward the net on her free-position attempt.

While the Terps frequently used an aggressive approach on their free-position shots this season, the team altered its scheme in an effort to push the Buckeyes’ goalie off her mark. Their newfound plan led to a 3-for-5 showing on free-position attempts, which was better than their 53-for-118 mark in the previous 17 games. 

“The goalie was amazing, so we just had to change up our shot,” Griffin said. “When she was dropping low, you had to hit it high. If she was staying high, you just had to read the goalie, and take one extra second and look at the goal and try to focus a little bit harder.”

SHOOTING INEFFICIENCIES

Coach Cathy Reese’s squad held a 12-10 advantage in the draw circle against Ohio State in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Friday night, but the Terps’ shooting efficiency was well worse than their season average. Their inability to convert looks at the net was one of the shortcomings Reese pointed to in the team’s tournament defeat at High Point Solutions Stadium.

“We generated a lot of looks offensively and didn’t either put them on goal or their goalie made some great saves,” Reese said. “We shot like 30 percent, which that’s not good enough. … We just, again, need to stick our shots. Thirty percent is not where we want to be.”

The Terps connected on 10 of their 29 total shots Friday. Comparatively, the team boasted a 43.4 overall shooting percentage and a 75.9 shooting percentage on goal during the regular season.

Midfielder Taylor Cummings, the reigning Tewaaraton winner and the team’s leader in points, did not score a goal for the first time this season. She went scoreless on four shot attempts, and her only point came on an assist to Griffin with less than four minutes left in the contest.

Of players who recorded more than one attempt on goal, Griffin was the only Terp to register a shooting percentage better than 50 percent.

CONFERENCE AWARDS

Three Terps nabbed player of the year honors for their respective positions, the Big Ten announced yesterday.

Griffin won Attack Player of the Year, while Cummings earned Midfielder of the Year and Megan Douty garnered Defender of the Year.

Despite leading the conference with 59 goals, Whittle failed to win Freshman of the Year. Northwestern’s Selena Lasota, who sits one goal behind Whittle and ranks second in the Big Ten in points, claimed the award.