With 25 seconds left in a one possession game, guard Shyanne Sellers found forward Angel Reese in her spot — right under the basket. Reese, as she had done all game and all season, easily found the bottom of the net with a layup off the feed.
Reese’s basket proved to be the game winner after Michigan State (12-9, B1G 6-4) mismanaged the clock and missed two critical free throws.
Consequently, No. 17 Maryland women’s basketball (16-6, B1G 8-3) held on to beat Michigan State, 67-62, effectively staving off a comeback and halting a win streak.
“I saw just great toughness by this team,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “I thought we grew as a team on both ends of the floor.”
The win extended the Terps’ winning streak to four games and retained their standing at the fifth spot in the conference standings.
However, it was a win that did not come without adversity. To start, the Terps arrived late to East Lansing after inclement weather canceled their initial flight.
Additionally, an ankle injury suffered by Ashley Owusu late in the first quarter continued the Terps’ unfortunate string of bad luck.
Owusu was helped off the court and was unable to put weight on her ankle. The junior guard only returned to the bench to support her teammates.
Still, the Terps’ defense stood strong against the Spartans, keeping star guard Nia Clouden to only four points in the first half. Clouden was often denied at all areas of the court, with the Terps only allowing contested shots.
Because of the limited Spartan starpower, the Terps held Michigan State to 26 first half points — its lowest first half total of the season. However, the Terps only held a seven point lead at the break.
The Spartans stayed in striking distance all night as a result of the work of forwards Matilda Eck and Alisia Smith, who scored 10 and 18 points respectively. All of Eck’s points came in the first half.
“Sometimes we would score and then we didn’t get a stop,” Reese said. “So we just changed that at the end and we started to get scores and stops and that led us to our win.”
The Spartans opened the second half on a 5-0 run to make it a two point game, but Maryland responded. Reese led the way with her play in the paint and her teammates added extra buckets to extend the Terps’ lead.
Reese scored a game high 25 points shooting 50% from the field and converted seven free throws.
Sellers also filled in admirably for Owusu, and scoring nine points, collecting seven rebounds, dishing out five assists and nabbing four steals.
“I just think my teammates put me in really good positions to be successful,” Sellers said.
The Spartans managed to get the game down to one possession when Clouden drained her final three pointer of the night with 2:29 left to make it a three point game, but Reese scored two clutch free throws and the ensuing basket to put the game out of reach for the Spartans.
The Terps return to College Park for Senior Day as the Terps take on Nebraska on Sunday at 1 p.m.
