With a tenuous grasp on first place in the Big Ten, the Maryland women’s basketball team traveled to Purdue in late February needing to win and avoid even a stubbed toe.
The Terps were without senior forward Brianna Fraser, who’d sprained her ankle in their previous game. Olivia Owens, a seldom-used freshman center, hadn’t made the trip because of a sinus infection. And then, within the first three minutes, junior forward Stephanie Jones (Aberdeen) was called for two fouls against the Boilermakers. A nine-player roster was cut down to six for almost an entire half.
Inconsistency, inexperience and injuries could not deny the Terps a road victory or, later, their fourth regular-season conference title in five years, but they conspired to make a result like Monday’s NCAA tournament defeat inevitable.