Anjale Barrett said it best afterward, lamenting that it should have never come down to free throws.
But it did, and when Barrett’s second free throw and potentially game-tying effort clanked off the back rim, the Terrapin women’s basketball team was once again on the wrong side of the scoreboard on their own court.
Hounded by an incessant full-court pressure for 40 minutes they could never truly handle, the Terps committed 29 turnovers in a 61-60 loss to Georgia Tech, their first at home against the Yellow Jackets (19-5, 5-3 ACC) since 2001.
After 48 straight home victories, the Terps (16-7, 3-5) have dropped their last three games inside Comcast Center by a combined five points.
You could make a good argument for both teams that, as Barrett put it, the game should have never been close.
The Terps committed 17 turnovers in the first half, and at one point their points-to-turnover ratio looked like this — Points: 2. Turnovers: 11. They fell behind as many as 15 in the first half and 17 in the second half, yet somehow found themselves in the lead at times in the second half.
But as frequently as Georgia Tech took the ball away from the Terps, the chances they gave the Terps to crawl back into the game came just as often. In the second half, they shot just 36.4 percent from the field, snagged a mere seven rebounds and committed 13 turnovers as the Terps rallied from a 48-31 deficit with little resistance.
A Kim Rodgers three-pointer gave the Terps a 55-54 lead with under five minutes remaining, their first of the game. The two teams traded baskets until the score wound up at 59-59, the ball in the Yellow Jackets’ hands and the shot clock off.
As it did all afternoon, Georgia Tech looked for guard Alex Montgomery (20 points) on its final possession. Montgomery ran guard Jackie Nared off a solid screen, then rose for an unspectacular look from deep in the corner. She didn’t hit, but a slap on the arm from Nared made the miss inconsequential.
Montgomery hit two-of-three free throws for a 61-59 lead with only 6.7 seconds left on the clock. Barrett took the inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast with the ball, drawing contact near the rim but failing to hit the shot.
Barrett, a 61.5 percent shooter from the line, smoothly hit the first, but as her second shot bounced away, so too did the Terps’ chances of victory.
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Check in later for a full game recap, replete with more notes and some quotes.
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.