The University of Maryland women’s basketball team redeemed itself on Feb. 22, beating Iowa, 96-68, at Xfinity Center in College Park after losing at Iowa earlier in the month.
The rematch was an overall top-10 matchup, as Iowa ranks No. 6 overall and Maryland ranks No. 7. Sophomore guard Shyanne Sellers played a great game, recording a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“A lot of us were upset after [the first] game. We got back at like 3 or 4 in the morning. And a lot of us stayed up to watch the game back right when we got back,” Sellers said on Glenn Clark Radio Feb. 22. “I think we used it as fuel yesterday.”
Maryland improved to 23-5 overall and 14-3 in Big Ten play with the win. This season, the 6-foot-2 guard is averaging 14.6 points and 3.2 assists per game and has scored in double figures in 23 of 28 games.
Sellers mentioned how the Terps’ strategy going into the second Iowa game game was to get Hawkeyes stars Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano out of rhythm, which worked in their favor.
“Clark is their motor, so we figured if we took her out of the picture, we would take Czinano out of the picture ultimately because Clark is trying to find Czinano when she’s not open,” Sellers said. “It was kind of like a 2-for-1 situation, so we knew if we got [Clark] off her game a little bit, then it would get Czinano off her game.”
Maryland had two bench players in Brinae Alexander and Lavender Briggs fill the shoes of star Diamond Miller, who sat out most of the second quarter due to foul trouble. Alexander scored 24 points on the night and Briggs, 19.
“When we realized that [Alexander] had the hot hand, we were just like, ‘Keep giving her the ball, keep giving her the ball.’ And she was balling unconscious,” Sellers said.
This was the Terps’ best shooting night of the season (14-for-26 from 3-point range). Maryland made 7 of 11 shots from 3-point range in the second quarter alone.
“I mean, our whole starting five can shoot. People off the bench can shoot. So you really have to play us honest,” Sellers said.
Sellers mentioned how head coach Brenda Frese did a phenomenal job putting together this year’s team. Every player on the team is willing to do her part.
An example Sellers brought forth was Briggs and Alexander. They were both starters at their previous school and led their teams in scoring, but they were willing to sacrifice and come off the bench at Maryland.
Briggs’ mentality when Sellers took over her starting spot was, “All right, that’s what you guys need me to do, I’ll just do my part,” Sellers said. “I think [that] is the most selfless act of our whole team, and that just defines our whole team of just selfless people that want to win and will do anything to win.”
Maryland’s culture and family dynamic are why Sellers decided to be part of the team in the first place. The Ohio native mentioned how she knew she wanted to play in the Big Ten during the recruiting process, since almost every game would be drivable for her family.
The Terps only have one regular-season game left — at Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. — before the Big Ten tournament (March 1-5 in Indianapolis). Sellers believes the Terps have already put together a resume good enough to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“We have four top-10 wins. It’s incredible what we’re doing. I don’t think anyone thought we were going to do it with the pieces that we lost last year, but Brenda just reloads. She doesn’t lose. She reloads,” Sellers said. “I knew we could do it and just the way that we were in preseason and in the summer, everyone was working out and hanging out with each other. Our connection with each other is just phenomenal. So you can see that on the court and how much we enjoy playing with each other.”
For more from Sellers, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics