GREENVILLE, S.C. — When Notre Dame and Maryland matched up in December, the sport shortly turned the Diamond Miller present. Miller, a 6-foot-3 guard, scored her thirty first level on a game-winning, one-legged fadeaway jumper. She ran round Notre Dame’s dwelling courtroom together with her index finger on her lips to silence the group.
On Saturday, within the spherical of 16 of the ladies’s N.C.A.A. event, Notre Dame appeared hellbent on stopping the Miller present. The Preventing Irish doubled-teamed — and generally triple-teamed — Miller when she received the ball within the put up.
However Notre Dame’s stop-Miller-at-all-costs technique left room for different gamers, who capitalized on open seems and saved the sport shut whereas Miller struggled. Within the second half, Miller finally received right into a groove, and second-seeded Maryland beat No. 3 seed Notre Dame, 76-59. Maryland will advance to its first round-of-8 sport since 2015. Miller and guard Shyanne Sellers led all scorers with 18 factors apiece.
“I felt like they have been daring me to shoot,” mentioned Maryland guard Lavender Briggs, who scored 12 factors.
Notre Dame threw the primary figurative punch of the sport. Down by 5, the Preventing Irish scored 13 straight factors within the second quarter, neutralizing Miller and main Maryland’s half-court offense into pressured photographs and errant passes that resulted in turnovers.
However within the second half, Miller received free. And Maryland responded with an enormous third quarter, anchored by Miller and Sellers. Maryland cruised within the fourth.
Regardless of the eight-year drought, the spherical of 8 is acquainted to Maryland and its coach, Brenda Frese. Since she began in 2002, Maryland has been among the many finest groups in faculty basketball. The Terrapins have made the spherical of 8 six instances and gained this system’s solely nationwide title in 2006.
Maryland will play the winner of South Carolina and U.C.L.A. on Monday.
Saturday’s video games, all instances Jap.
Girls’s Event
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No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 U.C.L.A., in progress, ESPN
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No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Ohio State, 4 p.m., ABC
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No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 4 Tennessee, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2
males’s Event
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No. 3 Kansas State vs. No. 9 Florida Atlantic, 6 p.m., TBS
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No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 UConn, 8:50 p.m., TBS
Supply: NY Times
