Guard Lexie Brown dribbles the ball up the court during the Terps’ victory over Princeton on March 23, 2015 at Xfinity Center.
A highly anticipated second-round matchup between the No. 1-seed Terrapins women’s basketball team and undefeated No. 8-seed Princeton on Monday night didn’t disappoint. At least not for a half.
After a high-scoring opening 20 minutes in which both teams shot better than 50 percent, the Terps seized control in the second half. Coach Brenda Frese’s squad used a 15-0 run to bury the Tigers.
With the help of a raucous home crowd in Xfinity Center and a spectacular three-point shooting display, the Terps cruised to an 85-70 win over Princeton to earn a Sweet 16 berth for the third consecutive season. They will meet longtime ACC rival Duke, a No. 4 seed, on Saturday.
A day after guard Laurin Mincy said she wasn’t ready for her career to end, the Terps’ lone senior drilled a career-high six 3-pointers, part of a game-high 27-point performance on 9 of 11 shooting.
“Laurin was not going to be denied in her last game in Xfinity,” Frese said.
It was Princeton, which entered the contest with the nation’s best three-point shooting percentage, that was supposed to light up the scoreboard from beyond the arc. Instead, the Terps stole the show from deep. They shot 60 percent, as guard Lexie Brown chipped in with five threes of her own in a 23-point outing.
“They were making their shots,” Princeton guard Blake Dietrick said. “I mean, they shot 87.5 percent from three in the second half. So, if that’s what it takes to beat us, great.”
In the first half, though, the Tigers carved the Terps’ typically strong defense for bucket after bucket down low. Princeton boasted a 28-6 edge in the paint and held centers Malina Howard and Brionna Jones without a field-goal attempt in the half.
Forward Tierney Pfirman helped mask the Terps’ post deficiencies with 11 first-half points off the bench. It was enough to send the Terps into a locker room with a 42-38 lead until Jones could get going in the second half.
The Terps looked to get the 6-foot-3 sophomore the ball early after the break, and she delivered with 10 points and nine rebounds in the final 20 minutes.
“For Mincy to shoot the three-ball like she did and then Bri to show up in the second half like she did, I think that makes us unstoppable,” Brown said.
The combination proved to be too much for the Tigers, who hadn’t been overwhelmed all season. After the Terps missed their first shot from the field in the second half, they connected on their next six while finally slowing the Tigers offense.
Howard knocked down a jumper — her first field-goal attempt of the game — at the 13:48 mark to cap a 15-0 run that would be prove to be the demise of Princeton’s perfect season.
“Playing an undefeated team — a team that [President] Obama had picked over us — it gave us a little added motivation to come in and make a statement,” Mincy said.
Frese said she remembers watching film of the Tigers’ 30-point blowout win at Michigan and saying, “You wait until the bracket comes out; whoever has to play Princeton is going to have a game.”
The Tigers hung with the Terps early, and if it wasn’t for a staggering display from behind the arc, it might have been closer down the stretch.
After all, Mincy said she had never felt as good from three-point range.
“It was a special night, being my last game here at Xfinity playing an undefeated team,” Mincy said. “Just very emotional, but I’m glad my team was able to come out and play hard for me, and I’m glad I gave them a great game.”
