No. 6-seed Maryland women’s basketball will be heading straight home from Indianapolis after blowing a second-half lead to No. 11-seed Oregon for the second time this season.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
History repeated itself
The Terps’ season hit its lowest point in late January when the Ducks flew into College Park and handed Maryland its fourth defeat in a row.
Head coach Brenda Frese’s squad spent all of a February trying to put that streak — and that loss — behind them, and they succeeded. They went 6-1,
picking up massive road wins over teams that were much better than the Ducks on paper. But sometimes, an opponent just has your number, and Oregon seems to have Maryland’s.
“Sadly, it felt like deja vu,” Frese said.
The Terps entered both games with a fourth quarter lead that did not feel like it was safe, and it wasn’t either time.
On both occasions, Oluchi Okananwa was the team’s only consistent source of offense. In the first game, she scored 27 points. In the second game, she scored… 27 points.
“This definitely is not the outcome that any of us wanted,” Okananwa said. “[I was trying to] be aggressive, be my normal self, good things happen for me when I drive.”
In both matches, the Terps got nothing from their senior wing duo of Saylor Poffenbarger and Yarden Garzon. Garzon had a particularly rough night Thursday, shooting 1-of-9 from deep despite getting some open looks.
Maryland got contributions in the margins from players like Kyndal Walker, Isi Ozzy-Momodu and Mir McLean, but when Okananwa’s drives were taken away by Oregon collapsing, there were no solutions.
Ehis Etute’s physicality and paint presence on both ends of the floor also proved difficult for Maryland to contend with in both games. Across the two matchups, she averaged 23 points, 10.5 rebounds and two blocks.
“We tried to do what we had to do, but they’re good too,” Ozzy-Momodu said. “They were hungrier.”
Forced reset before March Madness
Unlike the men’s conference tournaments, the women wrap up a week before selection Sunday. The loss will put Maryland on its longest break without a game since the offseason and leave a lingering bad taste in the mouth.
Those who played last year will be familiar with the feeling. The 2024-25 Terps got clobbered by No. 5-seed Michigan in their first Big Ten Tournament game. They were able to regroup for a Sweet 16 run and put up a close fight against eventual finalist South Carolina.
“We have to learn from this loss. At the end of the day, it happened, there’s no way for us to reverse the clock,” Okananwa said. “We either use it, or we sink in.”
The Terps’ locker room was largely silent after the game, save for a few players quietly talking to the media. A few were in tears; for Garzon, Poffenbarger and McLean, it was the last Big Ten game of their careers.
“[We need to be] trying to win — in fact, not trying, win every game for our seniors,” Ozzy-Momodu said. “They’ve been in the gym every single day, even when the coaches don’t see, and I don’t want their hard work to go to waste.”
McLean is a captain and vocal leader for the team, often calling the players out when she feels their play is not up to standard.
“It’s going to light a fire up our butts a little bit,” McLean said. “You don’t want to feel the feeling that we’re feeling right now.”
The Terps will need to play like the February versions of themselves if they want to replicate that Sweet 16 run. It will require better outside shooting, more points in transition — Oregon outscored them off turnovers — and sharing the ball early and often in the halfcourt.
Maryland’s seeding status in danger
The Terps entered the tournament looking to be firmly in position to be a host site for the NCAA Tournament. The only thing that could have put that in danger was a first-round exit. Now, the Terps will have to closely monitor some other conference tournaments.
One major aid to the Terps is that Michigan State lost earlier Thursday afternoon, dropping them from a projected No. 4-seed to projected No. 5-seed, according to Charlie Creme’s ESPN Bracketology. The remaining projected No. 5-seeds — Alabama, West Virginia, and North Carolina — are still in their respective conference tournaments. All three play Friday.
“[Our resume] shouldn’t be judged off of one game,” Frese said. “I think our conference prepares you night in and night out.”
So what is Maryland’s resume? Frese is correct that the Big Ten has been an absolute gauntlet this season. Twelve Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 30 in the NET. This is good for the Terps, as all eight of their losses are to conference opponents.
Their record against Quad 1 opponents is 6-7. Maryland is 2-1 against Quad 2 opponents and a combined 15-0 against teams in Quads 3 and 4.
Maryland’s best wins are on the road against Ohio State, at a neutral site against Kentucky, on the road against Minnesota and on the road against Michigan State. Its worst losses are the defeats to the Ducks (neutral site and home), home against Washington and at Illinois.
The Terps will have to watch the other conference tournaments closely, but for now, they seem to be in line to receive one of the last No. 4 seeds. The program’s prestige under Frese and constant presence in the NCAA Tournament could help tip the scales.
