Top-seeded Maryland too much for gallant Huskers
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BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — This was the volatility of the top-seeded Maryland’s women’s basketball team that Nebraska wanted no part of.
Being pushed like they hadn’t all year in the Comcast Center by the less-talented but gallant Huskers, the fifth-ranked Terrapins found themselves in a tie with 14:53 remaining in Tuesday night’s second-round NCAA Tournament game.
Less than two minutes later, junior All-America point guard Kristi Toliver was mugging to the partisan crowd after swishing a three-pointer that capped an 8-0 spurt and stunned the Huskers long enough for the home team to eventually earn a 76-64 win.
By improving to 32-3 overall and 21-0 at home, the Terps moved on to a Sweet 16 matchup against Vanderbilt on Saturday in Spokane, Wash.
Nebraska, paced by sophomore guard Vonnie Turner’s career-high 23 points, finished 21-12.
“They were extremely aggressive. They were denying the passing lanes. They were denying the ball full-court. They made it difficult for us,” junior wing Marissa Coleman, who scored 15 of her 19 points after halftime, said of the Huskers. “But we just fought and played Maryland basketball.”
NU, which trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, was down seven early in the second half when Turner hit a three to start a 10-3 run that freshman guard Dominique Kelley capped with another long-range shot from the right wing.
Maryland responded like a No. 1 seed almost always does in this tournament — considering that only three of 60 top seeds have failed to advance past the second round since the NCAA Tournament went to a 64-team field in 1994.
First, Coleman nailed a three-pointer, and after Kelley missed on a drive, she came back to score from the left wing.
The Terps got the ball back after a miss by Cory Montgomery and Toliver promptly swished a three before letting a crowd of 8,715 see her pleasure as Nebraska called time out with 13:05 left.
“The great thing about this team is our ability to come back,” said junior forward Kelsey Griffin, who was plagued by foul trouble and finished with nine points, the first time in 16 games she hadn’t reached double figures. “I don’t think we ever feel deflated until it’s the last second of the game and we know we’re going to lose — and maybe not even then — so I wouldn’t say there was a time I felt deflated.”
Nevertheless, after Maryland’s eight-point flurry, the closest Nebraska got was 69-64 on Turner’s fifth three-pointer with 3:56 to go. And that’s when Maryland’s other All-American, senior forward Crystal Langhorne, the school’s career scoring and rebounding leader, took charge.
First, she put back a miss. Then, after the Huskers misfired twice on their next possession, finished off a pass from Toliver to leave no doubt about the eventual outcome.
“I think we came really close,” Turner said of NU giving the Terps its best shot. “We came into this game with the mentality of giving them a game. We knew they were the No. 1 seed and coach told us to be tough and give our effort. And that’s what we did.”
The Huskers held the nation’s top-shooting team to 10-for-30 accuracy in the first half, but Maryland, fueled by a 28-13 rebounding edge after the break, hit 17 of 33 field goals in the final 20 minutes.
“From a competitive standpoint, I thought we competed really hard. But you also have to make plays,” Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. “We made our fair share, but we didn’t make the three-point shot.
“Vonnie did, but we go 6-for-23 from the three-point line. ... To upset someone of this magnitude, you have to make more shots than we made, particularly the shots they were giving us. They were giving us the three.”
Midway through the first half, NU trailed only by four before the Terrapins went on an 11-0 run while threatening to leave the Huskers in their tracks.
Langhorne, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, hit four free throws in that stretch. Coleman added two free throws, as Maryland pounded the ball inside and drew the third and second fouls, respectively, on NU forwards Danielle Page and Griffin.
But Turner, who did not score in NU’s opening-round win against Xavier, started a 16-2, half-ending run with a powerful drive to her right and later added a pair of three-pointers. She also hit sophomore guard Nicole Neals with a slick behind-the-back assist.
After Montgomery scored in transition and Maryland missed a shot on its third straight possession, the Huskers had a chance to tie when Tay Hester was fouled. Hester made the second of two free throws to draw NU to 34-33 with 44.4 seconds to play in the half, and after another miss by the Terrapins, Griffin tried to give Nebraska its first lead, but she was denied from inside.
Just like at the end.
“Just a very special win for our team against a very good Nebraska team,” coach Brenda Frese said after Maryland, the 2006 national champion, moved past the second round of the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in its last eight tries. “It was a battle, hard-fought from both ends, but I’m just very proud of how we were able to keep our poise throughout the stretch (after Nebraska forced the game’s only tie since the opening minute).”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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