All terrapins

No. 7 Terps Storm Back In Double OT Thriller Win Over Minnesota

The Maryland Terrapins women's basketball team stunned Minnesota in the last minute of double overtime to come back and earn a tough, gritty win.
Jaden Golding|
Maryland Women's Basketball Highlights | Minnesota
Maryland Women's Basketball Highlights | Minnesota | MarylandAthletics

In this story:

Maryland TerrapinsMinnesota Golden Gophers

Saylor Poffenbarger scored a career-high 30 points coming up huge for the Maryland Terrapins in a tightly-contested double overtime 100-99 victory at Minnesota on Sunday evening.

Poffenbarger shot 11-of-24 from the field, including knocking down four three-pointers. She also recorded a double-double, grabbing 10 boards, her first double-double of the season.

The Terps (10-0, 1-0 Big Ten) trailed 99-90 with 54 seconds left in double overtime, after a pair of free throws made by Minnesota's (6-3, 0-1 Big Ten) Mara Braun.

However, what transpired under the final minute was nothing short of remarkable for Maryland. The Terps went on a 10-0 run to finish the game and cap off a come-from-behind victory.

After the Minnesota free throws, Maryland turned around on the other end, drawing a foul and securing a trip to the free-throw line. Poffenbarger made both free throws, cutting their deficit down to seven.

Kyndal Walker forced a turnover, stole the ball, and turned around to make an and-one layup that resulted in a three-point play, putting the game at 99-95 with 37 seconds left.

On the next Gophers possession, Maryland continued its full-court press defense, resulting in another steal that led to another and-one layup, this time by Oluchi Okananwa.

Another turnover by Minnesota set up Maryland to take the lead with 12 seconds left.

The Terps inbounded the ball on the Minnesota side, with Yarden Garzon finding Poffenbarger, who sealed off the defender, freeing herself for a backdoor cut down to the lane for the go-ahead layup

The Gophers tried a last-second game-winner but couldn't get the shot to fall.

Maryland had three other starters finish in double figures; Okananwa (25 points, eight rebounds & three steals), Addi Mack (16 points, eight rebounds, & six assists), and Garzon (15 points, seven rebounds & nine assists).

The trend all game for Maryland was to come back and keep fighting. Down by 14 at the half, they outscored Minnesota 20-10 in the third quarter, only trailing 48-44 at the end of the quarter.

In the first overtime session, down by five with 19 seconds remaining, Garzon hit a three-pointer, the Terps forced a turnover, and Garzon hit the layup tying basket to extend it to double overtime.

It was an overall impressive effort and display by Brenda Frese's young team, which has already faced injuries this season, with four players missing the contest, and the young players stepping up to perform at the level they have so far.

Via the Maryland athletic website, Frese stated postgame about her team's effort with a simple but standout quote;

"Extremely proud of this group and the fight and the resiliency to never give up."

Up Next:

The Terps return home to host Delaware State on Wednesday evening, tipoff starting at 6 p.m.

Published
Jaden Golding
JADEN GOLDING

Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.

Home/Latest News