The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
23-12
Maryland
27-6
Women's Basketball falls to Maryland in NCAA Championship, 69-64
03.25.2014 | Women's Basketball
Krystle Henderson leads Longhorns with 14 points in season finale.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Texas Women's Basketball lost to Maryland, 69-64, in the second round of the NCAA Championship on Tuesday night at the Comcast Center.
Junior Krystle Henderson led Texas (22-12) with 14 points behind four second-half 3-pointers. Senior Chassidy Fussell chipped in 13 points. Fussell finishes her Texas career with 1,717 points and in ninth place on UT's all-time scoring list.
Maryland's three-time ACC Player of the Year Alyssa Thomas scored all 16 of her points after halftime as the No. 4-seed Terrapins (26-6) reached the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year.
In a game that featured 15 lead changes and was tied seven times, fifth-seeded Texas rallied from an 11-point deficit to get within 65-64 with 43 seconds left. After Longhorns senior Chassidy Fussell missed a 3-point try, Laurin Mincy made two free throws for a three-point lead.
Nekia Jones then bounced a 3-point try off the rim for Texas, and Thomas clinched the victory by sinking two foul shots with 8 seconds to go.
Krystle Henderson scored a career-high 14 points and Fussell had 13 for Texas (22-12). The Longhorns shot 36 percent (21 for 58) and got only six points and six rebounds from 6-foot-7 center Imani McGee-Stafford, who fouled out in the final minute.
And still, the Longhorns came agonizingly close to reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004. Texas coach Karen Aston won't soon forget those late misses by Fussell and Jones.
"I would want those same players to take those same shots," Aston said. "In particular, the shot Chas got out of the timeout, it was exactly what we were looking for. The shot that 'Kia got was a great shot. We didn't have any more timeouts, so they improvised a little bit, and I thought that was a really good shot."
Thomas finished with 11 rebounds, her 26th double-double of this season. In the first half, however, the three-time Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year went 0 for 5 from the floor, missed both free throws and had two turnovers.
The Terrapins trailed 38-37 before Thomas scored five points in an 11-3 run that put Maryland ahead for good. She finished 5 for 13 from the floor, but Thomas -- the leading scorer in school history -- had plenty of help.
Alicia DeVaughn had 12 points and seven rebounds, Mincy and Lexie Brown each scored 10 and seven players were used for at least 12 minutes.
Thomas scored her first basket on a jumper with 18:21 left in the game. She added a three-point play with 16:26 to go, then followed a Texas misfire with a twisting layup to provide Maryland with a 44-38 lead.
Minutes later, a baseline jumper by Brown put the Terrapins in front 48-41, the largest margin by either team to the point. The lead swelled to 55-44 before Texas fought back.
"The resiliency of our team has been something that I have watched grow throughout the year," Aston said. "We've really become a pretty good basketball team, and I think we showed that tonight."
After going 12-18 last season, the Longhorns appear to be on the rise.
"Our entire goal was to grow and get this program back to where it needed to be," junior Nneka Enemkpali said, "and I feel we're making steps toward that."
TEAM NOTES
• Series: Today marked the fifth meeting in history between Texas and Maryland and the second meeting between programs in the NCAA Championship. Maryland leads the all-time series 4-1.
• Texas now holds an overall NCAA Championship record of 33-26, and is 3-3 as a No. 5 seed. The Longhorns are now 11-8 in the NCAA Championship round of 32.
• Starters: For the ninth time this season and the fourth straight contest, Texas started Celina Rodrigo, Chassidy Fussell, Brady Sanders, Nneka Enemkpali and Imani McGee-Stafford. Texas is 4-5 when this lineup has started this season.
• The first half featured eight lead changes and five ties. This was the first time this season that Texas has finished the first 20 minutes tied with their opponent.
• Texas held Maryland's three-time ACC Player of the Year Alyssa Thomas scoreless in the first 20 minutes. Thomas was 0-5 from the field and 0-2 from the free throw line.
• The Longhorns were outrebounded for just the sixth time this season. Texas drops to 2-4 when losing the rebounding battle this season.
• The Longhorns were solid from long range, knocking down 8-of-21 attempts, good for 38.1 percent. Texas has attempted 20 or more 3-pointers five times this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Krystle Henderson
• Hit four 3-pointers on her way to a team-high 14 points and her third double-figure scoring effort of the season. Henderson was 4-of-6 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from long range.
• Fueled Texas' comeback run by scoring 11 points in the last 7:33 of the second half.
• All 14 of her points came in the second half.
Chassidy Fussell
• Scored 13 points and a season-high three steals in her final game as a Longhorn.
• Finishes her career as a Longhorn with 1,717 points, good for ninth on UT's all-time scoring list. On Tuesday she passed Edwina Brown (1996-2000; 1,705 points) and Stacy Stephens (2000-04; 1,708 points) on the program's all-time scoring list
Empress Davenport
• Scored nine points and was perfect from beyond-the-arc (2-2 3pt FG).
• Delivered a team-high three assists in 24 minutes of play.
Nneka Enemkpali
• Grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, six offensive, in 28 minutes.
• Also scored nine points and had one block and one assist.
