Guard Lexie Brown plays defense to prevent a pass during the Terps’ 75-57 victory against New Mexico State on March 21, 2015 at the Xfinity Center.
When the Terrapins women’s basketball team steps onto the Xfinity Center floor as the top seed in the Spokane region of the NCAA tournament Monday night, it won’t be playing a typical No. 8 seed.
Princeton enters the bout as the only undefeated team left in women’s basketball, and the Tigers, ranked No. 13 in the latest Associated Press poll, have expressed disappointment with their No. 8 seed for the tournament. Nonetheless, their seeding creates a heavyweight matchup Monday night.
And with all of the national attention Princeton has garnered since Selection Monday, the top-seeded Terps enter tonight’s game as the less talked-about team.
“I wouldn’t say we are the underdogs, but that’s what it kind of feels like,” guard Lexie Brown said. “Everyone is just excited to see an Ivy League team make some noise.”
President Barack Obama, whose niece plays for the Tigers, has contributed to the publicity surrounding Princeton. He attended Saturday’s game against No. 9-seed Green Bay in College Park, and he picked the Tigers to upset the Terps and reach the Final Four in his bracket.
Princeton’s win over Green Bay in the first round of the tournament marked just the second victory for an Ivy League team in the tournament.
While the Tigers rolled through their season to a 31-0 record, none of the wins have come against a top-25 opponent. Still, the Terps, who have won 25 straight games, understand how tough it is to win night in and night out.
“I respect everything that they did this season,” Brown said. “To go 31-0 is incredible.”
A significant part of Princeton’s success has been its ability to knock down shots from the perimeter. After shooting 9 of 16 from behind the arc Saturday, the Tigers’ 41.1 three-point percentage ranks first in the country.
Frese’s squad has experience against opponents that shoot a high percentage from downtown, though. The Terps defeated Iowa, which ranks third in the nation at 39.5 percent, earlier this season.
“Back to our conference play, we played a lot of great shooting teams,” guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough said. “A lot of people compare Princeton to Iowa. They play similar, but our goal is twos are better than threes, so hopefully we can run them off the three-point line.”
The Terps have been strong guarding the perimeter this season. They hold their opponents to 28.3 percent from behind the arc, which ranks 38th in the country.
It’s not just the game with the Hawkeyes, either. The Terps feel their entire conference slate has prepared them for this moment. Including the Terps, the Big Ten sent seven teams to the tournament.
“I feel like we have been battle-tested having gone through [the conference] regular season undefeated,” Frese said. “Then you talk about the conference tournament and having that target on our back, I like the fact that we can gain great confidence.”
The conversation regarding Princeton’s seeding has dominated the media over the past week, and tonight the Tigers will have an opportunity to prove themselves against a top team.
But the Terps aren’t ready for the offseason. Especially senior guard Laurin Mincy, who knows every game could be her last in a Terps uniform.
“We are in a one-and-done situation now,” Mincy said. “I personally don’t want my season to be over. I know [my teammates] don’t want their season to be over. We want to go to Spokane, and we want to go take our season further than we did last year.”
