Maryland lost to the Gamecocks. They did. But let’s not act like South Carolina came in and dominated. This one was a dogfight. You had two teams averaging over 80 points per game, and, for the first five minutes, they scored 12 points combined. Some folks in the crowd were probably squinting at the rims, wondering if the NCAA had messed up the measurements. It was back-and-forth, Maryland throwing punches, South Carolina absorbing them. And even though Dawn Staley’s squad pulled it out in the end, Brenda Frese isn’t hanging her head.
You know, the Gamecocks actually trailed 60-59 with 3:25 left. Yes, the same team that went undefeated last year. This isn’t the same steamrolling South Carolina. They had to claw for this one. But when it mattered most, they locked in—holding Maryland scoreless for three straight minutes.
“I think we gave a pretty good blueprint of how to beat South Carolina, to be honest.” – Maryland head coach Brenda Frese
This has been a theme. Several Gamecocks in the locker room (quotes coming soon) talked about how Maryland did what Indiana did and there may be a book out.
— Alan Cole (@Alan__Cole) March 28, 2025
Then came Maryland’s final chance. Down four with 21 seconds left, they had the ball, but disaster struck. A botched handoff rolled out of bounds, and just like that, their shot at a major upset was gone, 67-71.
But Frese is still quite proud of what they did here. “I think we gave a pretty good blueprint of how to beat South Carolina.” Can we argue? And now, the other seven teams in the Elite 8 might be grateful because Terrapins just exposed a game plan to take down the defending champs
The post Damage Done to South Carolina as 7 NCAA Teams are Thanking Maryland Coach to Expose Dawn Staley appeared first on EssentiallySports.