While the Gopher men’s basketball team was losing at Williams Arena to the sixth-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Thursday night, the Gopher women’s basketball team looked poised to upset No. 8 Maryland on the road.
But an unbelievable comeback by the Terrapins in the fourth quarter, coupled with untimely turnovers by Minnesota, spoiled an upset bid that could’ve put Minnesota back in the NCAA Tournament conversation.
The final play, following a huge comeback by Maryland, is as heartbreaking as it gets.
MARYLAND WINS!!! MARYLAND WINS!!!#Terps score nine straight points in the last 50 seconds to stun Minnesota, 71-69!#FearTheTurtle pic.twitter.com/d6Wpclr3g5
— Maryland Women’s Basketball (@TerpsWBB) February 22, 2019
Tied 69-69, after watching a 16-point second-half lead slip away, the Gophers had the ball with 6.6 seconds to play and a chance to ice the game, but Minnesota turned it over on the inbounds pass and Maryland’s Kaila Charles drove the floor and hit the game-winning layup as time expired.
It was the second of two huge mistakes in the final minute for Minnesota.
Leading 69-64 with under 50 seconds to go, the Gophers turned it over trying to get the ball in play and Maryland quickly turned it into an and-one layup, cutting the lead to two at 69-67.
Then, with time winding down, Charles blew by the Gopher defense and flipped it off the glass for the game-tying layup.
It could’ve been the kind of win that put the Gophers in the NCAA Tournament next month, but Minnesota simply couldn’t hang on against one of the top teams in the country.
Minnesota led by as many as 14 points in the first half, took a nine-point lead into halftime and then increased the lead to 16 points, 54-38, with 5;36 left in the third quarter.
Unless you were watching the game in person or on Big Ten Plus – because it wasn’t televised – fans following along via online box scores or Twitter didn’t know what had happened until the final seconds ticked away.
The women’s basketball Twitter account’s final two tweets of the game say it all.
Driving layup from Charles is good and we're tied at 69-69 with 6.6 seconds to go.#Gophers will have their shot at the win after a timeout.
— Minnesota Women's Basketball (@GopherWBB) February 22, 2019
Maryland steals the inbound pass and drives in for the game-winning layup, defeating Minnesota 71-69.
— Minnesota Women's Basketball (@GopherWBB) February 22, 2019
Meanwhile, the men’s basketball team scored just 18 points in the first half and lost at home to Michigan, 69-60.
