BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — MiLaysia Fulwiley was the only player who could generate any type of offense for South Carolina on Friday. She did it when it mattered most.
Late in the fourth quarter against Maryland women’s basketball, the Gamecocks’ sophomore caught a pass in transition and went all the way down the floor. She weaved around Saylor Poffenbarger and finished at the rim, capping off a 5-0 spurt inside the final three minutes.
Fulwiley’s two late buckets, and a three-minute Maryland scoreless streak, put the game out of reach for the No. 4-seed Terps in a 71-67 loss to No. 1-seed South Carolina in the Sweet 16 at Legacy Arena.
“Nobody in the country has anyone to be able to match that kind of speed,” coach Brenda Frese said. “I thought she was, no question, the most valuable player in this game.”
Maryland only allowed two players to reach double figures against a dynamic Gamecock offense. It still wasn’t enough, despite four Terps reaching double figures.
Fulwiley was one of two main scorers for the Gamecocks, pouring in 16 in the second half and 23 for the game. Chloe Kitts scored 15, with just five points coming in the final three periods.
Maryland held South Carolina to one of its lowest point tallies of the season. Fulwiley headed the bench attack for South Carolina, which scored 40 points, while the Terps’ contributed just 16.
The Terps didn’t get their normal production from Shyanne Sellers and Kaylene Smikle. The pair combined for nine makes on 28 shots along with seven turnovers.
Sellers concluded her final game at Maryland with 10 points and five assists.
“I’ve been at one of the best programs in the country for four years,” Sellers said. “I’m grateful for my time here. I’ve made sisters for life, family for life and nothing is going to change once I’m gone.”
[How Ryland Adkins prepares Maryland women’s basketball for their postseason run]
Frese’s group has now lost six straight contests to the Gamecocks, with two coming in the second weekend of the national tournament.
Frese said South Carolina’s depth is able to wear teams down. The Gamecocks offer up six different scorers that average more than eight points an outing, and their two best — Fulwiley and forward Joyce Edwards — don’t even start.
Kitts accounted for the Gamecocks’ opening 10 points, but didn’t net a field goal for the remainder of the half. Kitts and Fulwiley scored all of South Carolina’s points in the first quarter.
The Terps created looks close to the basket in the first half. They matched South Carolina’s 16 points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes and converted six more free throws than the Gamecocks.
Stout defense paired with nine points from Smikle and eight from Allie Kubek created a two-point halftime lead for Maryland, 33-31.
South Carolina’s “waves” of depth never really hit aside from Fulwiley, who was the difference in the second half.
[Shyanne Sellers, Sarah Te-Biasu powered Maryland women’s basketball’s overtime win]
The Gamecocks went on a 7-0 flurry in a little over a minute midway through the third. Three different players recorded a bucket, and a once six-point Maryland lead was gone. Another scoring run, this time a six-point swing to close the third quarter, gave South Carolina a lead.
It missed only three field goals in that frame, going 8-for-11, with six players scoring, but only led by two.
“I felt that they were taking really tough twos,” Sellers said. “We couldn’t get a basket to go in, and they started getting fouls and making their free throws.”
Maryland made three more field goals than its counterpart in the final period, but six turnovers — including five in the final three minutes — plagued the Terps down the stretch. South Carolina escaped with the win and ended the Terps’ season.
Maryland made three more field goals than its counterpart in the final period, but six turnovers — including five in the final three minutes — plagued the Terps down the stretch. South Carolina escaped with the win and ended the Terps’ season.
Frese accomplished the main goal she set entering this season. She attacked the transfer portal in the offseason and crafted a winning team after a subpar season a year ago. But injuries to Bri McDaniel, Saylor Poffenbarger and Sellers and the absence of a true center at times ended a once-promising season prematurely.
“A lot of teams would have folded,” Frese said. “They can see how resilient they were through the course of this season.”
