Welcome to The Diamondback Sports Digest. Every week, we send you a rundown of the latest Maryland athletics news.
The season is over for both Maryland basketball teams, which each fell in the Sweet 16. Men’s basketball fell to Florida after a drama-filled two weeks for Kevin Willard, while coach Brenda Frese’s squad couldn’t extend its luck after a double-overtime win.
In this week’s newsletter, we’ll break down how each team’s campaign ended and men’s lacrosse’s bounce back.
Men’s basketball’s hopes — and coach — are gone
As soon as Villanova fired coach Kyle Neptune, Maryland’s Kevin Willard was one of the names rumored for the job. He kept the speculation afloat following the Terps’ 81-49 NCAA tournament first round win over Grand Canyon with a press conference that did little to shut down the conjecture.
Maryland topped Colorado State in the second round last Sunday, 72-71, on a Derik Queen buzzer-beater to send the program to its first Sweet 16 in nine years. But the news was still on Willard, who hadn’t made his future intentions clear.
Willard dodged questions about it a day before the matchup with Florida. The Gators topped the Terps, 87-71, and Willard said postgame “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Villanova announced Willard as its next coach on Sunday, meaning the Terps enter the offseason without a head coach or athletic director.
Women’s basketball couldn’t find more magic
After an 82-69 win over Norfolk State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Maryland endured a dogfight against Alabama on March 24. The Terps entered the fourth quarter with a nine-point deficit, but a Sarah Te-Biasu 3-pointer with 12 seconds left forced overtime.
Maryland had the game won in the extra period, leading by three with just six seconds remaining. But Saylor Poffenbarger fouled Sarah Ashlee Barker on a 3-point attempt, who made all three free throws to force a second overtime.
The Terps didn’t let that happen again in the second overtime — their defense held strong to secure the win.
The victory advanced Maryland to face South Carolina in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years. And like the last time, the Terps couldn’t top the Gamecocks. They fell, 71-67, unable to hold onto a fourth-quarter lead.
Men’s lacrosse rebounds with vengeance
Maryland entered its Big Ten opener against Michigan on March 22 as the top team in the country. An 11-10 triple-overtime loss marked the Terps’ fourth straight loss to the Wolverines and dropped them out of the No. 1 spot.
Coach John Tillman’s squad made sure it didn’t have a repeat performance. Maryland led for the final 53 minutes and 24 seconds in a 13-8 win over No. 7 Penn State on Saturday.
The Terps’ offense looked the best they have all year, led by hat tricks from attackers Braden Erksa and Eric Spanos. Maryland’s elite defense forced a season-high 12 caused turnovers, and goalkeeper Logan McNaney bounced back following his worst performance this season.
Best Bits
- Read about how Ryland Adkins, Maryland women’s basketball’s operations director, prepared the Terps ahead of their postseason run.
- Maryland baseball’s Alex Calarco has found success and stability after a tumultuous start to his career.
- Maryland football, which coach Michael Locksley has called a “developmental program,” is shifting its focus to winning now.
- Senior Sierra Kondo has starred for Maryland gymnastics on its bars lineup after a monthlong hiatus.
- Maryland baseball continues to skid after a series loss to Northwestern.
Stat of the week
In Maryland baseball’s 6-5 loss to Northwestern on Saturday, the Terps let their opponent score a go-ahead run in the seventh inning or later for the sixth time this season.
Quote of the week
“I love College Park, I love Maryland. But when you’re at this point in your career, you’re looking at things, I have to take everything into consideration about what’s going to move forward,” Willard said after Maryland’s loss to Florida.
