First came a tangle and then came the tempers before two players were ejected Wednesday night in an NCAA women’s basketball game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Michigan Wolverines.
Maryland, which held a 15-point halftime lead, ended up on the short end of a 79-77 score in a game that went into overtime, according to The Washington Post.
Maryland’s lead was in the process of unraveling with about three minutes left in the third quarter, when the incident took place, as noted by the New York Post.
Video of the incident shows Michigan’s Lauren Hansen and Maryland’s Bri McDaniel getting intense in a struggle for a loose ball.
Hansen, in yellow, appeared to come away with the ball, but McDaniel, in blue, was not about to let up trying to slap and pry the ball loose.
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Flailing and flying arms continued after the referee whistled the play down.
Players from the two teams separated Hansen and McDaniel. Referees gave each player a technical foul and ejected them.
“Some hands were kind of thrown,” one broadcaster said in the video.
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“It’s disappointing. I thought it was going to motivate us,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said, according to The Washington Post.
“I thought it was going to turn when we had a sluggish start to the third quarter, but it didn’t really rally us in any way. Michigan was just a lot more inspired.”
Maryland ended regular time down two starters after Brinae Alexander fouled out in the fourth quarter. The team lost Shyanne Sellers in overtime when she fouled out.
“We punched first,” Frese said. “We were the more aggressive team on the glass. … Michigan was the more aggressive team in the second half. This one really hurts with a lot of adversity on the road.
“The foul trouble, the ejection by both players definitely changed the game. Michigan just played much more poised and [with] a lot more composure throughout the second half and into overtime. It’s disappointing to give up a 15-point lead when you’re on the road,” she said.
Maryland forward Lavender Briggs said the loss that put Maryland in a three-way tie for seventh in the Big Ten was “definitely frustrating.”
“Honestly, just looking forward to next game. We just let this slip through our fingers. Right now, it’s kind of make it or break it, and we’re right on the breaking point. We’re just trying to stay together as a team so we can get over that hump,” she said.
