V is for Terp victory
BOSTON – A stirring comeback and a thrilling finish.
Maryland accomplished both in the second half on Tuesday night to beat Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke, 78-75, in overtime and claim its first NCAA women’s basketball title.
Laura Harper, a sophomore, was named the most outstanding player in the Women’s Final Four after scoring 16 points for Maryland at the TD Banknorth Arena.
The Terrapins (34-4) trailed Duke by 45-32 with 14 minutes, 53 seconds left in the second half.
But Maryland began to edge its way back into contention.
Freshman Kristi Toliver, who had committed 12 turnovers in Sunday’s upset of tournament favorite North Carolina, sent the Terrapins into the extra period with a 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds left in regulation.
Duke (31-4), took the lead in the extra session, but Toliver put Maryland ahead, 76-75, with 34.2 seconds left on a pair of foul shots.
“This is the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life,” Toliver said. “I’m really speechless. You just have to give a lot of credit to this team. We stuck together all season.”
After Toliver’s foul shots, the Blue Devils’ Abby Waner missed an outside shot and Maryland’s Marissa Coleman grabbed the rebound.
Duke’s Alison Bales, who had 19 points, fouled Coleman and the Terrapin then went to the line and hit both shots with 13.4 seconds left to seal the victory.
The triumph got Maryland to the top of the women’s basketball world in just four short years under Brenda Frese, whose first season produced a 10-18 record.
“I’ll tell you, no team deserved to lose this game,” Frese said. “Duke played a heck of a game and it was a game I always had dreamed it would be. It was super.
“We’ve got kids that believe in each other that got it done together.”
Shay Doron and Toliver also scored 16 points for the Terrapins. Coleman finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Crystal Langhorne scored 12 points.
Duke’s Monique Currie scored 22 points and Lindsey Harding added 16.
Currie has little time to reflect on what went wrong.
Today, she is expected to be taken in the first round of the WNBA draft, which will also be held in Boston.
Maryland is 6-0 in overtime games this season and Tuesday night’s silver anniversary title game was only the second to extend to an extra period.
Tennessee beat the Dawn Staley-led Virginia squad, 70-67, in 1991.
Maryland became only the fourth NCAA Division I program to claim men’s and women’s basketball titles. The others were Stanford, North Carolina, and Connecticut.
The Terrapins were the third straight No. 2 seed in the tournament to win the national title.
Duke had controlled the game for much of the way before Maryland’s comeback, building a 38-28 lead at the half.