COLLEGE PARK, MD — Shyanne Sellers and the Maryland Terrapins had a difficult first half on Saturday.

The Terps just couldn’t get right against Norfolk State. Stars were struggling to shoot; the Terps turned the ball over like there was no tomorrow, and there was a general sense of malaise in the Xfinity Center crowd as a 13-seed looked in pole position to get its first upset win since 2021. But as the Terps returned to the court, their fortunes turned.

Sarah Te-Biasu nailed back-to-back threes to get the crowd rocking, and Sellers had the ball to inbound under the basket. What happened next was a moment of brilliance from Maryland’s unequivocal leader.

Norfolk State’s Makoye Diawara stood with her back turned to Sellers as she looked for a teammate to inbound to. So instead, “Senior Shy” just passed it to herself. She bounced the ball off of Diawara’s back, secured the ball with both hands, and made the basket through contact.

With its stars revived in the second half, the No. 4-seed Maryland Terrapins conquered No. 13 Norfolk State 82-69 to make it to Monday. 

“We knew Norfolk State was going to come out and be fearless – they had won 19 straight,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. “We had to work through those jitters on both ends of the floor and stop turning the basketball over.”

The bright lights of March were prevalent for the Terps (24-7, 13-5 Big Ten) early on. 

Kaylene Smikle committed two turnovers on the first two possessions and Norfolk State (30-5, 14-0 MEAC) punished her for it. The Spartans nailed their first two shots to take a 5-0 advantage within 45 seconds. 

The start was frantic. Both teams raced end-to-end trying to assert themselves. The Terps brought the boom defensively — a Shyanne Sellers steal and a ferocious block by Christina Dalce kept the Terps close — but struggled on the offensive end. The Terps made just one of their first seven shots from the field.

Maryland’s early success came off the backs of their bigs. Dalce, who had arguably the Terps’ best showing in the Michigan meltdown in the Big Ten quarterfinals, added five points and four rebounds to that steal in the opening five minutes. 

The biggest challenge for the Terps was figuring out how to slow Norfolk State guard Diamond Johnson. The NC State transfer got off to a hot start, making her first two triples. Though, the Spartans’ leading scorer missed three more shots and committed two fouls, putting her team in a difficult position.

Despite Norfolk State’s fearless start, the first frame belonged to Maryland forward Allie Kubek. 

The graduate student had a rollercoaster of a season, moving in and out of the Maryland lineup and seeing her minutes fluctuate, but she came out on a tear against the Spartans. Kubek led all scorers in the opening frame with eight points.

“I thought this was one of her better games, she gave us a great presence all night,” Frese said. “I thought she was really confident and really strong, and you need to have that inside-outside presence within your team.”

The Terps’ second frame didn’t go according to plan, though. 

Johnson scored seven points, Norfolk State’s Kierra Wheeler added another bucket, and Maryland was suddenly playing from behind again. 

Halfway through the second quarter, Shyanne Sellers got her first bucket of the game. Sellers’ difficult start was mirrored by all the Maryland guards. 

Norfolk State’s frenetic press-man defense, combined with a classic “let-them-play” March Madness attitude by the referees, left Sellers, Smikle and Sarah Te-Biasu struggling to impact the game. The trio combined for just eleven points on 4-for-15 shooting in the first half.

With the usual suspects failing to provide, the Terps entered halftime down 32-30. Johnson scored half of Norfolk State’s points during the opening 20 minutes.

“They’re all winners. They weren’t going to be afraid of the moment — we knew that,” Frese said. “They had the pace going where they needed it in the first half … so I thought that we really had to make an adjustment in the second half to be able to pick up our pace.”

Those Maryland adjustments were apparent coming out of the break. 

Sarah Te-Biasu got a half-second of space and let a three fly — nothing but net. Maryland went down to the other end and held Norfolk State to a shot clock violation. Te-Biasu ripped another triple on the ensuing possession; she nailed it. 

Sellers’ and-one capped a 9-3 run that put Maryland back on top, a lead they would not relinquish.

The Terps and the Spartans continued trading blows throughout the third quarter, with Norfolk State’s excessive physicality proving the difference. Both teams shot 8-for-15 from the floor in the frame, but Maryland got to the line and clinically sank all 12 attempts from the charity stripe.

After scoring 30 points in the first half, Maryland doubled that figure in just 10 minutes. It was the most points Norfolk State had allowed in a quarter all season. 

“We stopped turning the basketball over, so that was helpful,” Frese said. “When we get shots at the basket, good things happen to us.”

In the fourth quarter, the Terps found their mojo from behind the arc. Te-Biasu and Smikle each made a pair of triples to wrap up impressive comeback performances. The former scored 22, and the latter scored 21, with 34 of their 43 combined points coming in the second half.

It was far from a perfect performance from the Terps. They allowed Norfolk State to hang around longer than they would have hoped, and it took the Terps 25 minutes to figure out how to consistently break the press. 

But in March, the only goal is to survive and advance; Maryland did both of those, and a game against No. 5-seed Alabama awaits.

“We found a way to win, but we’re going to have to play a much better game come Monday,” Frese said. “It’s going to take a more connected effort on both ends of the floor.”