MINNEAPOLIS — Shyanne Sellers had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead Maryland women’s basketball to an upset of fourth-ranked and regular-season champion Ohio State, 82-61, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday.
Brinae Alexander and Jakia Brown-Turner each scored 19 points and Faith Masonius added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Terps (19-12), who delivered the type of statement performance that ought to push them toward the safe side of the bubble for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m telling you right now: The Maryland team you see in March is not the same team you see at the beginning,” Sellers said. “I think we just proved that.”
Maryland will play Nebraska on Saturday afternoon, the 10th time in 11 years the Terps have reached the semifinals. The No. 5 seed Huskers beat the No. 4 seed Spartans, 73-61, in their quarterfinal game right after the Terps finished avenging two regular-season losses to Ohio State.
Maryland owned a 55-31 rebounding edge and a 19-5 advantage in second-chance points on the way to its first win this season against a ranked opponent. It’s also the Terps’ first win over a top-five team since beating No. 4 Louisville, 76-73, on April 1, 2014, in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
“To finally get over that hump today when it matters most in the most time of pressure is a testament to these guys,” coach Brenda Frese said.
Rebeka Mikulasikova scored 16 points and Taylor Thierry had 13 points for the Buckeyes (25-5), whose quest for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament took a hit. Ohio State has lost two games in a row.
“Maryland played a great game. They were really prepared. They played like a team that might have needed this to get in the tournament, and we played like a team that showed up as the No. 1 seed and everybody was just supposed to lie down,” Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff said.
Maryland beat Illinois on Thursday after entering the bracket as the No. 8 seed, the first time the Terps played in the second round of the tournament since joining the league nine years ago.
With second overall WNBA draft pick Diamond Miller now with the Minnesota Lynx, the season became a grind for coach Brenda Frese’s squad. After going 137-20 in conference play over their first nine years in the Big Ten, the Terps lost nine league games — more than the three previous seasons combined.
Maryland nonetheless brought real potential to make a run this weekend with three graduate starters — Alexander, Brown-Turner and Masonius have 16 years of college experience between them — and a third-year star in Sellers.
The native of Aurora, Ohio, whose father, Brad Sellers, played for the Buckeyes and in the NBA, shot 9-for-17 from the field and provided a spark for her team at the most pivotal moments. She sank a pullup jumper at the second-quarter buzzer for a 38-30 halftime lead.
