Sarah Te-Biasu walked the ball up court on Maryland women’s basketball’s first possession of double overtime. She retreated to the left wing before rising up and draining a straightaway 3-pointer, part of a 26-point outing for the senior guard on the Xfinity Center hardwood.
Te-Biasu’s fourth of five triples, combined with a barrage of free throws, sparked a 7-2 Terp run to open the sixth period of play. Despite late heroics from Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker — who finished with 45 points — Maryland never relinquished its narrow lead in the extra period.
The Terps rallied from a 17-point second half deficit to defeat No. 5 seed Alabama, 111-108, in double overtime, advancing to their 17th Sweet 16 in program history.
“You know that it’s going to be a heavyweight fight. Both teams, you saw the competitive spirit, the mindset to want to go on to the next round,” coach Brenda Frese said. “Really no team deserved to lose this game tonight.”
Trailing by double digits entering the fourth quarter, Maryland trimmed the deficit to five with five minutes remaining. They extended their momentum into the final stretch, using a 7-3 run to tie the game at 83 and force overtime.
Barker and Te-Biasu traded snipes from distance in overtime and combined for 22 points in both extra frames.
“I was just trying to play the best that I [could] every possession,” Te-Biasu said. “I just wanted to win. That’s the mentality — everybody on the team, we wanted to win and we just never gave up.”
Both teams entered Monday’s game with top-20 scoring offenses in the nation, averaging nearly 80 points per contest. But the Terps initially held the Crimson Tide to a 15-point first quarter. Maryland led by four after the frame.
Then Alabama’s run came.
A 10-0 Crimson Tide scoring blitz in a minute and a half leveled the score at 33 apiece midway through the second quarter. An array of jumpers by Sarah Ashlee Barker accounted for six of the 10 points.
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Barker then drained a straightaway 3-pointer to take Alabama’s first lead in over 14 minutes — one of her four triples on the day. Barker’s 45 eventual points set a record for the most single-game points scored by any player — men’s or women’s — at the Xfinity Center.
The senior guard scored nearly half of Alabama’s second-quarter points and single handedly outscored the Terps, 12-6, in the final six minutes of the half.
The second-quarter splurge gave the Crimson Tide a two-point advantage at halftime, one it didn’t lose after the break. Alabama made five of its first seven three-point attempts to open the second half and extended its lead to a game-high 17 points after an early 12-0 run.
“We punched first, then Alabama responded with the character that they have,” Frese said.
Maryland’s first quarter success came from limiting Alabam’s three-point attempts. The Crimson Tide entered Monday shooting just over 38 percent from beyond the arc — the third-best three-point percentage in the country.
They didn’t make their first from beyond the arc until midway through the first quarter on Monday. Pressure coverage by the Terps’ backcourt formed a perimeter wall that silenced outside looks and forced a majority of touches on the interior.
Maryland’s defense held Alabama without a made field goal for nearly the final four minutes of the period before the 26-point second quarter.
[Maryland women’s basketball avoids upset against Norfolk State, advances with 82-69 win]
A Te-Biasu 3-pointer at the end of third clock trimmed the deficit back to within single digits.
Two timely jumpers by Kaylene Smikle came in quick succession midway through the final frame, the latter of which made it a two-possession game with just over five minutes remaining. Smikle finished with 24 points and seven rebounds before fouling out near the end of the first overtime.
Shyanne Sellers wrapped her final game at the Xfinity Center with a team-high 28 points on 9-for-9 shooting from the free throw line — a majority of which came in extra time to seal the emphatic victory.
“Overtime is our time. I knew they were tired, but just needing to dig in even further,” Frese said. “These guys played really, really heavy minutes … we just continued to try to instill as much energy and positivity, confidence.”
The win gives Maryland its first Sweet 16 bid in two years. It’s the first time in school history that both Maryland men’s and women’s basketball have made the NCAA tournament’s third round.
The Terps advance to play No. 1 seed South Carolina on Friday in Birmingham, Alabama.
