“In the NCAA Tournament, Maryland’s women’s basketball team lost to Iowa State, 93-86, after letting a 20-point lead slip away.”

In 2022-23, the young player moved from Towson to Maryland. Unfortunately, she suffered an ACL injury in the preseason, causing her to miss the entire season.

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.

Brenda Frese, coach of Maryland, observes the first half of the women’s NCAA Tournament game against Iowa State in Stanford, California on Friday, March 22, 2024. She is seen in an AP Photo by Godofredo A. Vásquez.

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.

Brenda Frese, the coach of Maryland, had previously worked as an assistant for Bill Fennelly at Iowa State from 1995 to 1999. However, their teams had not faced each other until Friday.

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.

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.

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.

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.
Iowa State center Audi Crooks reacts after scoring against Maryland during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the women’s NCAA Tournament in Stanford, Calif., Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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.

Unfortunately for the Terps, things got even more difficult when All-Big Ten first team guard Shyanne Sellers received her fourth foul while ISU was making their comeback.

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.

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.

The 20-point recovery is the second highest in a game of the NCAA Tournament, with only Texas A&M surpassing it by coming back from a 21-point deficit to defeat Penn in 2017.

The narrative will be refreshed.

The sellers wrapped up the game with a total of 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.

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.