“In the NCAA Tournament, Maryland’s women’s basketball team lost to Iowa State, 93-86, after letting a 20-point lead slip away.”
The sellers wrapped up the game with a total of 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
Allie Kubek of Maryland’s basketball team celebrates after making a 3-pointer against Iowa State in the first half of a game during the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament in Stanford, California on Friday, March 22, 2024. She was captured in a photo by Godofredo A. Vásquez.
In contrast to past years where it held a seed of at least No. 5, this year Maryland started the first round as the lower seeded team for the first time. This inconsistency was evident at a crucial moment on Friday.
In Palo Alto, California on March 22, 2024, Allie Kubek #14 of the Maryland Terrapins shows her excitement after scoring a three-point shot against the Iowa State Cyclones in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Stanford Maples Pavilion. Photographed by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images.
On March 22, 2024, at the Stanford Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, California, Kelsey Joens #23 of the Iowa State Cyclones made a drive towards the basket while being guarded by Emily Fisher #34 of the Maryland Terrapins. This was during the first half of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The game was captured by photographer Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images.
Unfortunately, despite a stellar shooting display by redshirt junior Allie Kubek, the Maryland women’s basketball team was unable to maintain their streak of 18 consecutive victories in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, falling short against their opponent.
Freshman center Audi Crooks of Iowa State scored an impressive 40 points, making 18 out of 20 shots, as the Cyclones, seeded seventh, rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat No. 10 seed Maryland 93-86 in the Portland 4 regional game on Friday night at Maples Pavilion, the home of the Stanford Cardinal.
The Terps (19-14) attempted to defend Crooks with smaller players, but the Cyclones successfully passed the ball to the 6-foot-3 freshman, leading to easy points. Crooks, who was unanimously selected for the first team All-Big 12, scored the fourth-highest number of points in a single game in the program’s history. This also marked the most points scored in an NCAA Tournament debut in the last 25 seasons.
In the fourth quarter, the Terps briefly held a lead of 72-71 with seven minutes remaining, but were unable to narrow the gap to less than five points in the last three minutes.
Iowa State’s next opponent will either be No. 2 seed Stanford or No. 15 Norfolk State, who are currently playing in the second round.
ISU made two 3-pointers in the first half, but managed to make three more within the first four minutes of the second half, leading to a 13-5 run. Cyclones quickly scored 10 consecutive points in just over 2 and a half minutes, resulting in a tie game at 59. They then gained the lead with 2 minutes and 50 seconds remaining in the quarter, thanks to a 3-point play made by Crooks.
The Cyclones quickly caught up to the opposing team after halftime, with their impressive shooting continuing. It only took them seven minutes to even the score, despite being down by 16 points at halftime.
In the initial period, Maryland had an impressive shooting performance from beyond the arc, making 6 out of 7 attempts and earning 33 points. This was tied with their first quarter against Niagara on Nov. 29 as their highest scoring quarter so far this season. However, they struggled in the second half and allowed the Cyclones (21-11) to score 57 points.
Brinae Alexander, a player for Maryland’s women’s college basketball team, shows her excitement after making a 3-point shot in the first half of their NCAA Tournament game against Iowa State. The game took place in Stanford, California on Friday, March 22, 2024. The photo was taken by Godofredo A. Vásquez.
Kelsey Joens, the guard for Iowa State, dribbles the ball as Jakia Brown-Turner, the guard for Maryland, defends in the first half of a preliminary round of the Women’s NCAA Tournament in Stanford, California on Friday, March 22, 2024. The photo was taken by Godofredo A. Vásquez.
Kubek had a 87.5% success rate from beyond the 3-point line, making 7 out of 8 shots, with a flawless record of 5 out of 5 in the first half. She achieved a season-best of 29 points in her debut game in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to Friday, she had only made 13 out of 30 shots from behind the arc this season.
The University of Maryland’s basketball team had three postgraduate students starting, and will need to replenish their lineup in order to potentially begin a new winning streak at the NCAA Tournament next season.
The Terrapins experienced a loss of two first-round WNBA draft picks from their previous team and had to make a strong effort in the Big Ten Tournament to secure their 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
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