Maryland Women Comeback Attempt Falls Short Against Defending Champ South Carolina
Sophomore Guard Kaila Charles scored 27 of her 31 points in the second half but it was not enough as South Carolina held off a furious Maryland rally to win 94-86 Monday Night.
The Terrapins trailed by 15 at the half and were down 71-45 with 2:20 left in the third quarter.
Maryland began chipping away and eventually cut the Gamecocks lead to 87-84 with 38 seconds remaining in regulation before South Carolina guard Tyasha Harris three-point play extended the lead to 90-84 and silenced the Xfinity Center crowd.
The Terrapins came into this season with a lot of questions after losing their three best players in the offseason to graduation or transfer but tonight a few of those questions were answered. Maryland Head Coach Brenda Frese appreciated the effort of her team despite the loss.
"I thought we showed a lot of fight," said Frese. We just dug ourselves into too big of a hole in the first quarter."
Gamecocks National Player of the Year candidate Aja Wilson led all scorers with a career-high 32 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Maryland will host Niagara on Thursday morning for a special 11am tip-off before traveling to play Top-Ranked UCONN on Sunday.
Greg Watkins is a reporter and producer for CBS Radio Baltimore. He covers Maryland Football and Basketball for Baltimore's 105.7 The Fan. You can follow Greg on Twitter@gregwatkins830