Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Greenville, SC–
There is always the tail of two halves of basketball and tonight was exactly that as the Terps faced mounting foul trouble in the second half and a South Carolina team that again was firing on all cylinders in route to an 86-75 victory.
Aliyah Boston had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks and again showed why she most likely be the top pick in the upcoming WNBA draft. One-word… unstoppable.
“I thought the game was lost in the second quarter,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “Their size, their depth, they wear you out.”
Frese may have seen her team play the worst second quarter this season. She was forced to sit three of her starters dur to foul trouble for most of the remainder of the first half and it allowed Dawn Staley to get her team into their first double-digit lead of the game before halftime.
Maryland shot 50% for the game, yet couldn’t hold up down low against the Gamecocks. South Carolina outrebounded the Terps 48-26 and 25-7 on the offensive glass.
“Super proud of this team. I liked the mentality to come out and punch first. I loved our first quarter, I thought we were really confident, we had South Carolina on the back of their heels,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said.
Going into the off season Frese has a core of players that are leaving, so next season she will have to find another group of core players that can deliver late in the season as Miller and Sellers did. One thing that is for sure, it will be a different look Terps for the 2023-24 season.
Greenville Regional 1 All-Tournament Team
Abby Meyers, Maryland
Diamond Miller, Maryland
Brea Beal, South Carolina
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Zia Cooke, South Carolina
Most Outstanding Player
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
