With less than a minute left in double overtime Sunday, the Gophers women’s basketball team had a nine-point lead against No. 7 Maryland as it sought to earn its first victory over a ranked opponent since November 2019.
What happened next was an all-out collapse, as the Terrapins had one final comeback in a game full of them.
Maryland scored the final 10 points of the game, getting a go-ahead layup from Saylor Poffenbarger with 10 seconds left, and held on for a 100-99 victory at Williams Arena in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
“I’m really proud of our young ladies,” Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit said in her postgame news conference. “I thought they competed their hearts out, and I thought they played at a really high level against one of the best teams in the country. It felt like that was our game, but give Maryland credit, they never gave up.”
After the Gophers took a 99-90 lead on two free throws by Mara Braun with 54 seconds left, Maryland (11-0) countered with two free throws by Poffenbarger 10 seconds later.
The Gophers (6-3) then turned it over on their next three possessions, with the first two on the press underneath their own basket. Both steals led to three-point plays that also resulted in Tori McKinney and Grace Grocholski — their two leading scorers in the game — fouling out. The Terrapins scored eight points in a span of nine seconds, pulling within 99-98 with 35 seconds to go.
Amaya Battle’s seventh turnover of the game with 12 seconds left gave Maryland the ball back, and after a timeout, Yarden Garzon fed Poffenbarger with the inbounds pass for her go-ahead layup. Braun missed a three-pointer with a second left, the Gophers’ only field-goal attempt in the final minute.
”Obviously, I’m really proud of this group," said Maryland coach Brenda Frese, who improved to 15-1 against the Gophers since leaving them in 2002. “And the fight, the resiliency to never give up. The 9-0 run there late. The game felt like it was March. That’s what you’re going to see in the best conference in the country.”
