Maryland women’s lacrosse entered Sunday’s NCAA tournament contest against Penn with two weaknesses: inconsistent shooting and turnover volume. The latter cost the Terps a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals.

No. 6-seed Maryland masked some of its turnover problems in recent games with stout defense, but a season-high 24 giveaways allowed Penn to defeat Maryland for the second time this season.

“It’s a disappointment,” coach Cathy Reese said. “We want to be competing in a Final Four every year … and we fell short of that goal this season.”

Reese said on March 26 that she wanted her team to stay under 10 turnovers. Maryland did that just five times in 21 games. Two of those games came within Maryland’s last four contests before the Big Ten finals, but the Terps reverted back to their high-turnover tendency.

The Terps’ turnover struggles against Northwestern in the Big Ten championship primarily manifested in the third quarter. Instead of sitting back, Northwestern increased its defensive pressure by sending double teams and stick-checking the Terps from the back.

The adjustment minimized Maryland’s offense, limiting the Terps to 12 second-half shots while they committed eight turnovers.

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Despite a near-two week gap between the Big Ten championship and the first round of the NCAA tournament, Maryland’s turnover problems persisted.

With four minutes and 45 seconds left in the opening quarter against Fairfield on Friday, freshman attacker Shelby Sullivan attempted to break toward goal upon receiving a pass from fellow attacker Chrissy Thomas. But senior midfielder Haley Burns dislodged the ball from Sullivan’s stick.

While Sullivan quickly regained possession, Reese screamed from Maryland’s sideline to “stop getting back checked.”

The Terps previously played the Quakers in late March and committed 13 turnovers. The Terps committed a season-high 24 on Sunday.

Maryland’s woes mostly came in the third and fourth quarters when Penn ramped up its defensive intensity. The Terps notched 14 turnovers in that span, surpassing Penn’s total for the game.

The Quakers relentlessly checked Maryland’s offensive unit and utilized more double teams that attacked the Terps from the front and back. Northwestern made the same adjustment against Maryland in the Big Ten finals — the Terps scored just twice in that game’s second half.

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“We just got back checked today all over the field,” Reese said. “When [Penn] stepped up their pressure, we just didn’t handle it well. We ran into double teams, and they ended up causing turnovers all over the field.”

But Penn didn’t force Maryland’s most costly turnover on Sunday. Junior Terps defender Neve O’Ferrall appeared to produce a game-winning defensive stand with eight seconds left, but flung an errant pass toward senior defender Sophie Halus.

Senior Penn midfielder Gracie Smith picked up the ground ball and quickly passed it to senior attacker Erika Chung, who scored with two seconds left to tie the game. Penn scored again in double overtime, preventing the Terps from reaching the quarterfinals for the second time in three years.

“That’s not like us,” Reese said. “That’s not a normal turnover that our defense has.”