The shot was pure and the acknowledgment was quick, delivered with a smile. As Taylor Mikesell backpedaled after a no-doubt-about-it 3-pointer late in the third quarter Saturday, Maryland women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese pointed at her star freshman guard, a grin as wide as the Terps’ lead over Radford.
The Big South champions had found their way to College Park for the first round of the NCAA tournament with defense, holding opponents under 56 points per game, 11th best in the country. But now there were still 11-plus minutes left in the game, and the third-seeded Terps had already cleared that threshold.