– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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MINNEAPOLIS — Forgive the Maryland Terrapins women’s basketball team if they were a little lost as they walked onto the court on Thursday. The program that had grown accustomed to starting their journey toward a conference tournament title at the business end of the competition found themselves in a preliminary round, and also in the predicament of not being assured of an NCAA Tournament spot after the journey ends.
But at least they took care of their business on Day 2 of the 2024 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament in Minneapolis on Thursday, coming back from a 14-point deficit to defeat Illinois 75-65 to advance to the quarterfinals. In each of the eight previous seasons under Brenda Frese while a member of the Big Ten, the Terrapins either finished first or in a tie for second place, earning an automatic spot in the conference tournament quarters.
Struggles were expected with the Terrapins given their high-profile transfers away from the program over the past few years, but Maryland stumbled to a 9-9 finish in conference play, and fighting to stay on the NCAA Tournament bubble..
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Thursday’s games, with the photos taken by Detroit-area photographer Aaron J. Thornton. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 62 pictures in total.
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