CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — With the season on the line, No. 5-seed Maryland women’s basketball consistently grinded its way down low and drew fouls to head to the charity stripe.
Clank. Brick. Off. Again and again and again.
The Terps missed 14 free throws on Sunday, and their perimeter shooting couldn’t make up for it in a 74-66 loss to No. 5-seed North Carolina that ended their season.
In what became their final collegiate game, Maryland’s seniors were the story. Mir McLean had a fantastic game with a double-double;
the other two went a combined 0-of-16 from downtown.
“In the NCAA, when you’re playing on someone else’s home court, it’s extremely difficult,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “We missed 14 free throws and shot under 40% for the game. A lot of uncharacteristic plays for us.”
Yarden Garzon and Saylor Poffenbarger weren’t taking bad shots, but the looks just didn’t fall. Those struggles persisted throughout the game.
From the start, Maryland’s offense was off its game. It was sped up into either forcing low percentage shots inside or failing to make open looks from deep.
Throughout the season, Maryland’s offense ran through Oluchi Okananwa. It tried to run the same way again on Sunday, but it just didn’t work. Okananwa finished with 21 points, but she faced big struggles, including eight missed free throws.
Partway through the third quarter, Okananwa was briefly subbed out to have a conversation with Frese. It was a poignant moment between Frese and Okananwa, with the coach intensely building the player back up.
At first, it seemed to work — for Okananwa and for Maryland.
“Coach understands I’m a competitor at heart, and I’ve told her this before, and I’ll keep on telling her this until forever. I love to be coached hard,” Okananwa said. “That’s what she does with me every single day. Really, that was a regroup moment for myself and her telling me she believed in me.”
The junior guard appeared to gain more confidence, which translated into more made shots.
And a collective hustle brought the Terps back. Maryland was playing harder and it was rewarding them. The shots still weren’t going in, but they were attempting more.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 50 and the Terps had some momentum. But the earlier struggles continued to haunt them. More Maryland shots didn’t go in, and North Carolina took advantage of those opportunities.
Lanie Grant and Elina Aarnisalo took complete advantage, combining for 41 points. Despite being strong defensively, the Terps couldn’t keep up.
Maryland’s defense hustled and won the forced turnover battle, 16-9. But again, when it mattered most, the Terps didn’t make the shots they desperately needed.
In what seemed to be the final blow, Garzon stepped to the charity stripe with 1:18 left in the game for a chance to cut the deficit to four points. She missed both — and Grant went the other way and scored a driving layup.
Maryland has had its struggles in big games this season, but none mirrored Sunday’s mishaps. The away environment clearly had a nerve-racking impact — not hosting this game proved to be detrimental.
Addi Mack, a freshman playing in the biggest game of her career, was Maryland’s calmest player offensively. She was the only Terp to make a 3-pointer all afternoon.
McLean had 10 offensive boards, and it kept the Terps in the game. But despite the team accumulating 21 second-chance points and 21 offensive rebounds, it wasn’t enough to compensate for the struggles.
Now, its season is over. The Terps fought hard, but came up small in the biggest moment.
It’s hard to characterize this season as a success or a failure. Maryland aimed to go further in March; its goal wasn’t to lose in the Round of 32.
But given the plethora of injuries throughout the season, the Terps never went out without a fight.
“When I look back on this team this season, just how they played for each other, the unselfishness, the resiliency,” Frese said. “When you talk about all the injuries that we face this season, this group never quit. They played a 40-minute game like they were not going to quit.”
Three things to know
1. Okananwa’s emotions postgame. For the struggles that Oluchi Okananwa had on Sunday, her season’s production exceeded what even she could imagine. Transferring in from Duke, she was expected to be a large contributor, but wasn’t viewed as a bonafide star. For the majority of games, the Terps went as she did. After the game, it was made clear that she was grateful for the decision she made to join the Terps.
“There’s really no words to describe how happy I am to be a Terp and how happy I am to be coached by Brenda Frese,” Oluchi Okananwa said. “This is one of the best decisions I think I’ve ever made.”
2. Perspective. After Sunday’s game, head coach Brenda Frese preached perspective to her team. Sunday’s game was rough, and it was the end of the road, but the journey Maryland went through this season was unexpected. It was a season that had its fair share of ups-and-downs, but the Terps stayed resilient and continued to fight.
“It’s really important to give your locker room perspective, and so immediately, you know, as much as we hate to lose, that’s not changing anything,” Frese said.”Wanting to share with them, like I did in the locker room, just how proud we are as a staff.”
3. The seniors’ last ride. This is the end of the road for Poffenbarger, Garzon and McLean. None of them spent their entire careers with the Terps, but they were the guiding force of Maryland’s young nucleus throughout the season. For them, the future may be unclear, but they led this team to a strong season that saw unexpected challenges.
“They tried to do everything they can. It was just awesome to be able to bring Saylor and Mir back home and full circle moment after recruiting them,” Frese said. “Yarden, just the winner and the competitor she is, our staff really enjoyed having her all season. We spoke to them, they all got really bright futures, and whether that’s continuing on to play or the next move they make, they’re going to be extremely successful.”
