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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN -- Brenda Frese, the winningest coach in Maryland basketball history, picked up her 600th career win with a last-second 77-74 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers on Thursday night in Mackey Arena as
Shyanne Sellers hit a game-winning three as time expired. Frese became the 49th coach in NCAA Division I history to win 600 games and stands 17th among active Division I coaches in wins with a 600-173 career record.
With 6.5 seconds remaining and the Terps in possession,
Abby Meyers drove into the lane and spun around out of a double-team to find a wide-open Sellers on the right wing, who promptly buried the shot. It was Maryland's second buzzer-beater win in the past three games, with both coming on the road.
Diamond Miller was sensational once again, posting 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Meyers was spectacular in her first game coming off the bench, pouring in a team-high 19 points, including three triples. Sellers not only hit the biggest shot of the night, she also tallied 15 points as she made it six games in a row that she has scored at least 10.
Brinae Alexander netted 11 points, making 3-of-6 three-pointers.
After trailing for a majority of the first three quarters, the Terps took the lead in the final stanza thanks to big shots from Meyers and Miller. Purdue's Abbey Ellis answered with an individual 8-0 run to put the Boilermakers back up, but Alexander hit a key three to stop the bleeding.
With 34 seconds remaining and Purdue in possession, the teams were knotted at 74 apiece. The Terps came up with the big stop they needed as they were seemingly everywhere and forced the Boilermakers to throw the ball away with 6.5 seconds left, setting up Sellers' big shot.
The Terps shot 10-of-25 from deep (40 percent) overall and won the second-chance points battle 17-6.
Maryland moved to 8-3 on the season and 1-1 in the Big Ten while Purdue is now 8-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Brenda's Takes
"Clearly, this will be a win I'll remember for a really long time, obviously with the dramatics at the end. I told these guys they're like the Cardiac Kids of keeping these games close and shots at the buzzers. I thought today, defensively, we set the tone, we were really aggressive forcing them into turnovers, we really needed to have the stops at the end of the game, which I thought were really key for us as a team. I love the response by Abby, that's what we need to be able to have, just every single one of our points and the play she made at the end. It was drawn up for her and she took the double-team and was able to kick it and Shy was fearless. That's why you put the hours in the gym, to be able to knock down that shot. Great team win where we had to have so many plays together to be able to come out against a really good, veteran-led team that can really score the basketball."
"Just super humbled," Frese said of her 600th win. "I've been so fortunate. One, to have the bulk of those wins here at Maryland, a place that's been really special and really good to our family. But behind those 600 wins, I haven't made a basket, I haven't scored a point, it's these players. They're the ones who have put themselves in a position to be able to have 600 wins and same with my staff. I've been really fortunate to have just great people that I get to work with everyday, that put countless hours in behind-the-scenes. It's not a single award, it's one over time with so many people involved."
From The Girls
"The play was drawn up for Abby and I saw she was going to be in a little bit of trouble, so I just filled in behind like we did in practice this week," Sellers said of her game-winner. "I saw the clock and saw that there was like 1.5 seconds and I was like, 'I don't have time to dribble and pull up', so I just shot it. It's going in—that's what I thought."
"I count my lucky stars every day that I get to play on this team and represent a program like this with such a legacy, with so many amazing players that have come through and helped count to that 600 (wins)," Meyers said. "Winning tonight was special. Game-winning shot, 600th win, you can't really call it better than that."
"I think we're just really competitive," Sellers said of the team. "Sometimes we make the game a little bit harder than it needs to be, but I tend to see that we like to come together in the end and pull it out together, just competing until the final minute. We still have a lot to work on, but I think we're doing pretty good for a team that just met less than a year ago."
Breaking Down The Action
- The two sides went back-and-forth in an offensive-heavy first quarter with Purdue holding a slim 23-20 advantage at the end. Abby Meyers came off the bench and scored a quick seven points to pace Maryland.
- A three-point play by Miller with 1:17 remaining in the half put the Terps down just 38-35 at the midway point. Meyers and Miller combined for 16 points and Maryland turned 13 Boilermaker turnovers into 11 points.
- The Boilermakers opened up an eight-point lead, their largest of the night, but the Terps made four of their final five field goals in the third stanza to cut the deficit to 57-61 heading into the final quarter.
- The Terps opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run, keyed by a triple in transition from Miller. That put Maryland on top 64-63 for their first lead since late in the first quarter as Purdue called a timeout to stop the bleeding.
- The teams traded baskets until the Terps came up with the big play when it was necessary as Sellers buried the triple.
Frese File
- Brenda Frese now has a career record of 600-173 (.777), the highest career percent- age of all Big Ten head men's and women's basketball head coaches in their Division I careers. That mark stands 13th among all active women's basketball head coaches with at least 200 games coached.
- Frese has posted a 543-143 mark in 21 years with the Terrapins, making her the winningest coach in Maryland basketball history.
- She has led the Terrapins to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances in her 20 postseasons so far. The Terrapins have advanced to 10 Sweet Sixteens, six Elite Eights, three Final Fours and the 2006 NCAA Championship under her. Frese has led her Maryland squads to 13 conference titles.
1,000 Point Update
- Miller now stands 30th in career scoring at Maryland with 1,220. She passed Bonnie Rimkus who scored 1,218 during from 1991-94. Next up is Belinda Pearman at No. 29. She totaled 1,284 from 1981-84.
- Meyers now has 1,096 in her career with 947 in her three seasons of action at Princeton before joining the Terps this season.
- Lavender Briggs, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark in Maryland's game against Notre Dame, now has 1,015 overall. She netted 961 at Florida.
- Elisa Pinzan is chasing 1,000 points as she has 961, for her career. She had 916 points at South Florida.
- Brinae Alexander is also approaching the 1,000-point threshold as she has 937 career points, with 841 coming at Vanderbilt.
Double-Figure Update
- Miller (18 points) scored in double-figures for the ninth time in 10 games played this season. She's recorded 10 points or more 64 times in her career.
- Meyers hit double-digit scoring for the ninth time this season and 61st time in her career, notching 19 points.
- Sellers' 15 point-performance was her sixth consecutive game scoring 10 or more. She has accomplished that in nine of 11 games this season and 22 times overall.
- Alexander notched 11 points, hitting double-digits for the fourth time this season and 46th in her career.
Series History
- Maryland continues to dominate the series against the Boilermakers, holding a 16-2 advantage including a perfect 7-0 mark in West Lafayette.
Up Next
- The Terps will host No. 6 Connecticut on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 3 pm for the Terps' Black-Out Game. The matchup will air on ABC. Buy tickets here.
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