Maryland Madness: Miller leads Maryland to Elite Eight

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Amid and happiness andon-court celebration for Maryland reaching the Elite Eight for thefirst time in eight years, Terps coach Brenda Frese took a fewmoments to smile and reflect how far her team has come in the pastyear.

The best part for Frese is the journey’s not done yet.

Diamond Miller and Shyanne Sellers had 18 points apiece as theTerps (28-6) took control in the third quarter to defeat depletedNo. 3 seed Notre Dame 76-59 on Saturday and move a victory awayfrom a trip to the Final Four.

The Terps will play either defending champion South Carolina,the top overall seed, or No. 4 seed UCLA on Monday night for a tripto Dallas.

Chasing a championship didn’t look promising at the end of lastseason. Frese had lost 85 percent of her offense a year ago asMaryland went through a roster transition with nine new faces. Thegroup gelled quickly and are among the last teams still standing inMarch Madness.

“What I felt like a year ago and to where we are today,”recalled Frese, who won an NCAA title 2006 and last reached theElite Eight in 2015. “Yeah, this one is going to be one I’llremember for a very long time.”

Miller, the transcendent 6-foot-3 All-American, was asked whyshe didn’t join the exodus from Maryland after her junior season ayear ago.

She reasoned that stay or go, she’d play with new, unfamiliarplayers. “When you look at it like that, I was like, ‘I’m justgoing to stay and trust the process.’ And I’m so happy I did,”Miller said.

Miller and Sellers combined for 30 of their 36 points in thefinal two quarters.

The third-seeded Fighting Irish (27-6) played once again withoutinjured leading-scorer Olivia Miles after her knee injury at theAtlantic Coast Conference Tournament earlier this month.

Miles and guard Dara Mabrey, both starters, were injuredspectators for Notre Dame, which hung tight with Maryland for 25minutes before Miller and Sellers took over.

Miller, the first-team All-American, shook off a poor first halfas Maryland gained control. Tied at 44-all, Lavender Briggs had a3-pointer and Miller followed with a three-point play as the Terpsclosed the third quarter on a 13-1 run.

Notre Dame, which fought off Mississippi State on its home floorto advance last week, could not respond.

Maryland used its defensive pressure to break out early, forcingeight turnovers by the Fighting Irish to build a 19-14 lead. ButNotre Dame showed its NCAA Tournament resiliency once more with a13-0 burst to move in front 27-19.

Miller and Brinae Alexander each hit 3-pointers in the final 80seconds of the half to cut the lead to 32-31.

Things changed in the second half as the Terps and their leadingscorers turned up the fire.

“I just felt like they were confident and aggressive and theygot really good looks, and they nailed every shot that they took,”Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said.

Part of Notre Dame’s success was holding Miller in check thefirst 20 minutes. She was just 1-of-4 shooting with two reboundsand three of her team’s eight turnovers. When Miller got going,Maryland was moving on to where it hadn’t been since 2015.

Sonia Citron led the Fighting Irish with 14 points, their onlydouble-figure scorer.

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish were not expected to get this farafter Miles knee injury at the ACC Tournament. Ivey thought herteam’s run to the Sweet 16 will give them confidence to get back towork and put up another stellar season.

Maryland: Frese has been enthralled by this team after foldingso many new faces this season. Maryland will look for perhaps itsmost unexpected Final Four visit when it plays for the Greenville 1Regional on Monday night.

STAT WATCH

Maryland was just the third team in the women’s NCAA Tournamentthis century to allow two 3-pointers or less, record 15 or moresteals and win by 15 or more points, according to OptaSTATS. Dukeaccomplished the other two, first in 2002 against Texas, then in2012 against St. John’s. Notre Dame made just two threes andfinished with a season-high 25 turnovers.

MILES WATCH

Ivey said second-leading scorer Olivia Miles will have surgerynext week and is hopeful she can take part when the Fighting Irishreturn for workouts this summer. Ivey said much depends on how theknee surgery goes and how long it will take torecuperate.