Maryland women's basketball draws ten-seed, faces Iowa State in first round of NCAA Tournament
- Ahmed Ghafir
- Mar 17, 2024
- 2 min read
Maryland women's basketball is back in the postseason after head coach Brenda Frese guided the Terps to its 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament selection and 20th all-time since taking over. Maryland, who was listed among ESPN's last four byes in Sunday's updated bracketology, has drawn a ten-seed and will face Iowa State in Stanford, CA in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. This marks the first-ever matchup between Maryland and Iowa State with a matchup against either second-seed Stanford or 15-seed Norfolk State in the second round. Texas, Stanford, NC State and Gonzaga drew the top four seeds in order in the region. Under Frese, Maryland enters its first game 20-3 all-time in first-round games -- including a perfect 18-0 mark under Frese -- and 41-17 in the NCAA Tournament. After being picked to finish fourth in the conference by both coaches and media, Maryland finished 19-13 (9-9) and 31st in the NET after battling through the seventh-toughest schedule in the country, according to WarrenNolan.com. Shyanne Sellers led the way as her team-high 15.5 points per game and 171 assists paved the way for the junior guard to be named a first-team All-Big Ten selection, while her 81.7% career free-throw percentage sits second in program history behind Kristi Toliver. Grad guard Jakia Brown-Turner was first team (media) and second team (coaches) selection after finishing with 13.8 points on 44.6% shooting, along with posting a team-high 6.5 rebounds this season. Bri McDaniel's three-point shooting proved to be big through the season after shooting over 39% from deep, currently sitting 12th in the record book with threes made. Bri McDaniel was also recognized as an honorable mention selection after being the third Terp to average double-figures this season, posting 12.7 points and four rebounds per game while starting in 24 games this season. Maryland's depth will be tested during its postseason run, though, with Lavender Briggs sidelined after suffering a knee injury during last month's game vs. Rutgers. Maryland was able to overcome that during its conference tournament run after taking down Illinois then top-seeded Ohio State before falling to Nebraska, 78-68. Iowa State finished the season 20-11 (12-6) and won their last six games including ranked wins over Oklahoma, Baylor and Kansas State. The Cyclones are led by Audi Crooks, one of three scorers averaging double-figures this season with a team-high 18.9 points per game while shooting over 58% from the floor. Related Links
