One Terrapin basketball team did more than enough to extend its postseason life Friday night.

Oh, and the men’s team did pretty well last night, too.

Before a smattering of Terp fans squeezing in some bonus basketball at Comcast Center before Greivis Vasquez and Co. took the floor in Spokane, Wash., the Terp women opened what they hope will be a WNIT title run with an 88-53 romp of Iona Friday night.

Their success came a little easier than their male counterparts. The team hit 12 of its first 18 3-pointers and shot 54 percent to the Gaels’ 31 percent for a win that didn’t take long to materialize.

The Terps (20-12) will host East Carolina in a second-round matchup Sunday at a time to be determined.

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It seemed all but a formality, and tonight it became official: The Terrapin women’s basketball team will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time time in seven seasons.

The Terps last missed out on the Big Dance in the 2002-03 season, coach Brenda Frese’s first season in College Park.

This time around, a 1-4 finish, including a resume-thinning 71-59 loss to Boston College, doomed the Terps to the WNIT. They came within three points of an ACC Tournament quarterfinal victory over top-seeded Duke — a win that would have likely punched their ticket to the tournament.

“We’re extremely disappointed,” Frese said Monday. “We also know and feel at the end of the day, it’s a situation that you don’t ever want to put yourself squarely on the bubble. We take full responsibility in terms of not making it in to the tournament.”

The 64-team WNIT field will be announced later tonight. The Terps will likely host at least their opening-round game, given their relative strength among other entrants.

“We bid to be able to host, but obviously we’ll just wait and see,” Frese said. “We’re hoping to be able to stay home and play in front of our great fans and the support that we have. We’re just waiting to get word.”

Check in later for more coverage, and make sure to visit diamondbackonline.com later tonight for a more extensive article on the team’s postseason future.

Jonas Shaffer is The Diamondback’s women’s basketball beat writer. He can be reached at shaffer@umdbk.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jonas_shaffer.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — We’re under 25 minutes from tip-off here at Greensboro Coliseum, where the ninth-seeded Terrapin women’s basketball team is readying to face off against eighth-seeded North Carolina. There’s only been a trickle of spectators arriving so far, but that doesn’t diminish the importance of today’s game for the Terps.

To put it bluntly, if they don’t win today, they’re not going to the NCAA Tournament. If they don’t win two games here, the same can likely be said.

I got in touch with ESPN’s women’s college basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme to get a sense of just where the Terps stand in March Madness — if at all. As expected, it’s not too promising:

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No, I’m not talking about decades here, folks.

I would’ve told you all earlier, but unforeseen family obligations in Adamstown, Md., which is apparently still stuck in the 19th century as far as technology goes, kept me from blogging. But I digress. Here’s what’s important: The Terrapin women’s basketball team finished off the bulk of their non-conference schedule yesterday — a Jan. 31 game at Longwood still remains — with a 79-69 victory over Saint Joseph’s on Sunday. Against a team that lost by 31 points earlier this season to Providence, they didn’t look their best, but a win is a win.

Either way, with their cushy early-season schedule at an end, it’s now time for the Terps (12-2) to do battle in league play. They kick off their ACC slate Thursday at N.C. State. The Wolfpack aren’t among the conference’s best — in fact, they look pretty far from it — but this could be a pretty telling game for the Terps.

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The women's basketball team gathers around during Tuesday's trophy presentation. Photo by Matthew Creger/The Diamondback

They might not have played any actual “classics,” but the Terrapin women’s basketball team again took home the Terrapin Classic title with a 67-61 win over UNC-Wilmington Tuesday night.

The Terps have just one more game — a Jan. 3 date with Saint Joseph’s — before conference play begins.

Are they ready? Who knows. When a team can shoot 45 percent from the field and commit almost 20 turnovers and yet still win comfortably, it’s either a sure indicator that there are better things beyond the horizon or a warning sign that the Terps are playing with fire.

Here’s what caught my eye out there Tuesday at Comcast Center:

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Family or free throws? That was the dilemma posed by the university’s winter break for the Terrapin women’s basketball team.

The team’s next challenge upon return — a Sunday night date with lowly Stony Brook — was a little easier, and probably made the decision to opt for another helping of turkey rather than one more round of shooting practice go down more smoothly.

The Terps (10-2) shot less than 50 percent from the field and the line Sunday, but a talent gap evident right from the game’s tip-off propelled the Terps to a 76-44 victory over the Seawolves (2-9) at Comcast Center, their 45th straight win in College Park.

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We're back. Photo source: Comcast SportsNet

The WNBA playoffs start tonight for your Washington Mystics against the No. 1 seed Indiana Fever.

Unfortunately for the Mystics, a team which includes former Terp stars Marrisa Coleman (No. 4 pictured) and Crystal Langhorne (No. 1 above), Verizon Center, their normal home, isn’t available.

“Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular” will be occupying the floor of the phone booth tonight. (Don’t worry, the dinosaurs will be here all weekend, including three times on Saturday.)

So the Mystics got together with the Athletics Department and decided to host the game on campus at Comcast.

Student tickets are $10 and a shuttle is being provided from the College Park metro stop. Read on for more details.

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