LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lexie Brown’s free throw bounced off the front rim with 22 seconds remaining in the Terrapins women’s basketball team’s 76-73 win Tuesday night against No. 3-seed Louisville in the Elite Eight, eliciting cheers from Cardinals fans at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Terps were trying to pull away from Louisville late on the road in their biggest game of the season, and the Cardinals started fouling with more than two-and-a-half minutes left, sending the Terps to the line again and again.

But that miss was her lone misfire at the line all night. With the No. 4-seed Terps holding onto a 72-65 lead with hopes of advancing to their first Final Four since 2006, the freshman guard remained calm before an announced crowd of 14,002 mostly rooting for Louisville.

“The crowd will feed off of your body language,” Brown said. “So if you show them that they’re bothering you, they’re going to bother you.”

Brown sank the second free throw and finished the game with 20 points while shooting 9-of-10 from the line. Her composure during the contest’s closing moments helped the team outlast Louisville’s comeback push.

When No. 1-seed Tennessee cut an 18-point deficit to nine with 7:12 remaining in the Terps’ Sweet 16 matchup, Brown was replaced after picking up two fouls in less than a minute. Forward Alyssa Thomas and guard Laurin Mincy shared the point guard role until Brown returned with 1:57 left in the game.

She played the final eight minutes of Tuesday’s contest, though, and she remained the Terps’ primary ball handler when Louisville switched to a press.

“We have complete confidence in our freshmen,” Thomas said. “I mean, they’re in the game in tight minutes and making plays for us. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Shooting better than 78 percent from the free throw line this year, which ranks third on the team, Brown held the ball when the Cardinals’ pressure caved in. She shot 5-of-6 from the line in the final 2:39.

“I don’t think she’s a freshman anymore,” guard Katie Rutan said. “She doesn’t play like it. She doesn’t hold herself as it. To see her on the line, I just knew that it was two easy points, and I knew she was going to hit it no doubt.”

Brown and the Terps worked on free-throw shooting at various intensities this season, especially during their two-week layoff before the NCAA tournament. During that break, coach Brenda Frese reintroduced their free-throw ladder drill, which combines free-throw shooting with sprints.

In the practice, players had to run sprints if they missed free throws. The physical punishment associated with the drill has helped Brown endure the pressure of taking free throws in crunch time.

“It’s the same kind of pressure in practice, but instead of not scoring any points, you got 15, 20 line sprints,” Brown said. “I would take pressure in a game over free-throw ladder any day.”

During this season, Brown has gradually become one of the Terps’ most reliable players, averaging the second-most minutes per game behind Thomas. Brown’s poise in a hostile environment during the team’s most tense and important game of the season helped seal the Terps’ victory. And as the stage gets bigger and the lights get brighter, the Terps will continue to look to the freshman to stay composed and orchestrate the offense for one last weekend.

“We have a common goal, and we’ve reached it,” Brown said. “So now we can only go up from here.”