Thanks in large to a late-season slide, the Maryland Terrapins women dropped to the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Conference Tournament to be played in Indianapolis. The Terrapins received a double bye into the quarterfinals and will await the winner of the Michigan State-Indiana second round slate.
The 2018 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament bracket. #B1GWBBall #B1GTourney https://t.co/rNazqg6eXR pic.twitter.com/LS52pkm8nN
— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) February 25, 2018
Maryland (23-6, 12-4 in Big Ten) will play Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Maryland split the season series with Michigan State. They fell to the Spartans, 82-68, on Jan. 11. The loss was Maryland’s first in conference play. Maryland ripped off seven straight conference wins following the loss, including a 76-68 win in East Lansing in the rematch.
The Terrapins faced the Hoosiers just once this season, defeating them 74-70 on Jan. 16. That sparked their seven-game win streak.
Maryland jumped off to a 11-1 record in the Big Ten and appeared to be on their way to clinching their fourth Big Ten regular season title. However, they went through a slump, losing three straight to Purdue, at Minnesota, and at Michigan in the course of seven days. The Terrapins rebounded on Sunday with a 77-75 win over Nebraska to hold on to the No. 2 seeding.
Maryland features a well balanced team in which four active players average double figures in points. Sophomore guard Kaila Charles leads the team with 18.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Freshman Channise Lewis leads with 4.9 assists. Meanwhile, senior Kristen Confroy is shooting 45.6 percent from three-point range.
Maryland has won the last three Big Ten Conference Women’s tournaments. Just last year they won the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
