When Iowa forward Megan Gustafson backed down Maryland women’s basketball forward Brianna Fraser at the edge of the paint with a little over four minutes left Sunday, the Terps’ lone senior was called for her fifth and final foul.
Fraser had put up her elbows, but the little contact that did occur Gustafson initiated, and Fraser threw her hands in the air in frustration. Maryland was called for 15 more fouls than the Hawkeyes, and with a 29-8 free throw disparity, coach Brenda Frese’s team often found itself on the losing end of several 50-50 calls.
The now No. 8 Terps battled to flip a 10-point second-half deficit into a one-point lead in the final frame, but the foul imbalance proved too much to overcome as No. 10 Iowa dealt them an 86-73 loss to end their eight-game winning streak.
“We fought through a lot of foul trouble,” Frese said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to get to the free throw line 29 times, because when you only get eight free-throw attempts, that’s a big difference in this game.”
[Read more: No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball’s 8-game win streak snapped in 86-73 loss to No. 14 Iowa]
In the first 20 minutes, Maryland actually attempted two more free throws than the Hawkeyes while holding Gustafson — the leading scorer in Division I — to just seven points on 3-of-7 shooting.
However, keeping Gustafson at bay early came at a cost: foul trouble.
Forward Shakira Austin — recently named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list — picked up two fouls as Gustafson’s primary defender. Fraser also had a pair of fouls, and with the Terps’ top two frontcourt players struggling to stay on the floor, Gustafson started to take advantage.
“We could barely stop the bleeding in the first half with the foul trouble,” Frese said. “[Gustafson] never stops working. … She’s just a matchup nightmare.”
[Read more: Maryland women’s basketball wants to limit Iowa star Megan Gustafson’s influence]
Austin immediately picked up a third foul on Iowa’s first possession of the second half, and Maryland had no defensive answer as a revolving door of post defenders tried to slow down Gustafson.
Gustafson missed the first free throw after Austin fouled her, but the senior would go on to make her next 10 from the stripe en route to 24 second-half points.
“We were trying to bring a lot of players in through the foul trouble,” Frese said. “I thought they were aggressive. I thought they were physical.”
Even through foul trouble and Iowa’s free points at the line, Maryland never ceased competing. After a 9-0 run to begin the final quarter, the Terps briefly held a 59-58 lead with less than eight minutes remaining.
“It wasn’t our normal flow of players in the game, and they never use that as an excuse,” Frese said. “They just kept fighting and put their heads down.”
But despite the continued effort, Maryland eventually relinquished the fight. Fraser fouled out midway through the fourth period, and Iowa finished the game with an apropos seven consecutive makes from the line to cap off a 9-0 blitz of its own and end the Terps’ winning streak.
With the win, the Hawkeyes moved into a tie with Maryland for first place in the Big Ten — but the Terps hardly seemed rattled. With the conference tournament in about two weeks, Maryland is looking forward to an opportunity for revenge in a potential meeting with Iowa in the Big Ten championship.
“We know we’re going to see them again, possibly in the tournament,” forward Stephanie Jones said. “So, just looking forward to our next game and being able to get back in the gym and work and learn from this.”
