No. 10 seed Maryland women’s basketball was riding high with a 16-point lead over No. 7 seed Iowa State at the end of the first half in Palo Alto, CA thanks to 19 points from Allie Kubek on perfect shooting.

A 23-7 Cyclone run to kick off the second half and tie the game at 59 each quickly changed the tone of the game. The Terps ultimately fell in the first round of the tournament, 93-86, to end their season.

Three-point baskets, fouls and rebounds were the difference between the two halves. Maryland executed in those categories in the first half to pull ahead. In the second, the team couldn’t carry its success over, allowing Iowa State to secure the comeback victory and advance to the tournament’s second round.

“The credit goes to Iowa State,” coach Brenda Frese said. “They had to make the shots and they stayed resilient on their end, and I just thought they were the more disciplined team in the second half.”

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The Terps had nine fouls in the first half while the Cyclones had seven. Maryland got in foul trouble in the second half, tallying 15 fouls, while Iowa State had just eight infractions.

Frese said her team needed to get its opponent in foul trouble, but couldn’t. The Cyclones had 17 free throw attempts in the second half compared to the Terps’ seven.

Trips to the free-throw line in the second half were necessary as Maryland slowed down from behind the arc after a hot start to the game.

Led by Kubek, the Terps made six three-pointers in the first quarter after averaging 5.6 per game this season. They finished the first half shooting 9-for-13 from distance largely due to perfect shooting from Kubek and Brinae Alexander from beyond the arc.

Despite its earlier success, Maryland couldn’t execute from deep in the third quarter, going 1-for-5 in the frame. Kubek made the team’s only three-point basket with about a minute left.

Frese’s squad followed it up by shooting 1-for-6 from three in the final quarter.

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“Our hot streak kind of cooled down in the second half,” Shyanne Sellers said.

After shooting 60 percent from the field and 69.2 percent from three in the first half, the Terps shot 34.2 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from three in the second half.

That increase in missed shots led to more rebounding opportunities. Iowa State rose to the occasion, out-rebounding Maryland, 22-9, after losing the rebounding battle in the first half.

The Terps finished with 25 rebounds, their second-fewest this season, and eight offensive rebounds, 4.5 below their average.

“A lot of times, we weren’t really attacking the offensive boards like we usually do, so we didn’t get a lot of second-chance points,” Kubek said.

Maryland’s failure to stay consistent as Iowa State charged back in the second half ended its season. The Terps failed to make it past the first round for the first time in their 13-year tournament appearance streak.