COLLEGE PARK — Xfinity Center was the only open building on the University of Maryland campus Wednesday. The snowstorm canceled classes for the week. And the cold seeped inside.
The arena hosted a frustrating 83-80 double overtime loss for No. 16 Maryland women’s basketball to No. 25 Washington, the Terps’ third straight defeat and fourth in five games as their January slide continues. After leading by 12 at halftime, Maryland was outscored by that much in the third quarter and missed a free-throw attempt and two field goals in the final seconds to potentially win the game in regulation.
The first extra period ended with Saylor Poffenbarger missing a go-ahead free throw with three-tenths of a second left, pushing the deadlock to another overtime. There, the Terps couldn’t convert on three go-ahead shots in the final 20 seconds to punctuate a defeat full of missed chances that they’ll surely dwell on.
It’s Maryland’s fourth consecutive loss to a ranked opponent — the team is now 1-4 in such games this season.
“This conference isn’t for the weak,” coach Brenda Frese said. “It’s the best conference in the country for a reason.”
After squandering their first-half advantage, the Terps saw Washington’s Elle Ladine nail a late 3-pointer while they missed two attempts at the regulation buzzer.
In the first overtime, Addi Mack’s late and-one layup and two-point jumper, both with under a minute to go, gave Maryland a 71-70 lead. The Huskies’ Sayvia Sellers (career-high 38 points) scored with four seconds left to put Washington back ahead by one. But Poffenbarger’s miss at the free-throw line meant a second extra period would be required.
Maryland trailed by four with under two minutes to play but cut the deficit to one with 23 seconds to go. A basket there would have avenged all of those previous game-winning misses. Instead, Yarden Garzon’s midrange turnaround thudded off the front of the rim, Kyndal Walker and Poffenbarger each missed as time ran out, and Maryland was left with its second overtime loss in the past week after falling to then-No. 10 Iowa last Thursday.
“For us, it’s just continuing to share with them that we’re right there,” Frese said. “I mean, this is a game of inches and possessions against really, really experienced teams. I thought we left everything out there. Someone had to win and someone had to lose, but I like how we competed.”
Washington represented yet another test for Maryland, the last in a long stretch of them this month. The Huskies, coached by former Frese assistant Tina Langley, entered Wednesday on a four-game winning streak and ahead of Maryland in the Big Ten standings, which the Terps have slid down this month after a 16-1 start to the season.
Maryland endured a similarly difficult January last season, when the Terps went 5-4, including a three-game losing streak — all to ranked opponents. But from there, they went 6-2 in February and entered the postseason on a four-game winning streak that preceded Frese’s 12th Sweet 16 appearance, which ended in a narrow loss to eventual runner-up South Carolina.
The seasons have few similarities with so much roster turnover, Frese said, but there are more commonalities than she lets on. Transfers are doing much of the heavy lifting again — Garzon led Maryland with 24 points Wednesday. Injuries have also been a fixture of the past two years. Bri McDaniel and Kaylene Smikle, both of whom figured to be prominent contributors and were among the few returners from 2024-25, are out for the season. And again, a difficult January schedule gives way to an easier February slate.
“We all wanted this competition when we came here,” Garzon said.
Those injuries and newcomers didn’t stop Maryland from winning 16 of its first 17 games. There’s also plenty of blame to go around for this recent slide. Still, there’s precedent of a midseason stumble propelling a deep March run.
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