Maryland women’s basketball (23-8) will be a No. 5-seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament and face No. 12-seed Murray State (31-3) in the Round of 64.
The Terps will travel to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where the first and second rounds are hosted by No. 4-seed North Carolina. The winner of Maryland and Murray State will face off against the winner of North Carolina and Western Illinois.
“I think it’s an awesome bracket for us. We’re excited about one game at a time,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “Excited
about our first opponent with Murray State, and it’s just been a great week. We’ve had a great week of practices and a great reset to really get our legs underneath us.”
The Terps were in contention to be a host site, but they weren’t in the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s top-16 teams that were released on Saturday. They will hit the road for the second time in the last six seasons not affected by COVID.
“But the committee always has a hard decision to make, and I was really at peace. I figured whatever was meant to be was going to be,” Frese said.
Maryland’s season has had its fair share of ups and downs. It started 14-0 but skidded in Big Ten play, incurring a four-game losing streak. The Terps then went on a six-game winning streak before losing the regular season finale and the Big Ten Tournament opener.
The Terps battled with injuries the entire season, having several key contributors sit out for the season: Kaylene Smikle, Bri McDaniel and Lea Bartelme. But the Terps weren’t overly affected by those injuries, and remained among the best teams in the Big Ten.
This season, Maryland was led by Oluchi Okananwa, who averaged 18 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. The junior guard took a major step in her first season with the Terps after transferring in from Duke.
Three of the Terps’ seniors are entering their final NCAA Tournament: Yarden Garzon, Mir McLean and Saylor Poffenbarger. Last season, McLean and Poffenbarger were major contributors to Maryland’s Sweet 16 run. Now, they’ll be the only returners to help guide this year’s team.
Garzon, a 38% 3-point shooter, has also been a key contributor to this year’s team. She previously appeared in seven NCAA Tournament games with Indiana.
The rest of Maryland’s roster will play in their first NCAA Tournament.
Last season, the Terps were a No. 4-seed and made it to the Sweet 16 before falling to South Carolina. This season, it will look for a better run, but it will have to go on the road to do so.
“Any team that’s in your bracket now can play, and we have the utmost respect for every opponent,” Frese said. “It takes six games to go win a national championship.”
