Maryland women’s basketball will once again open the NCAA Tournament on its home court.
The Terps on Sunday earned the No. 2 seed in Greenville Region 1 and will host their first-round game against No. 15 seed Holy Cross at Xfinity Center on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
The NCAA Tournament berth is Maryland’s 12th straight and 18th since coach Brenda Frese took over the program in 2002.
If the Terps win Friday, they will play the winner of No. 7 seed Arizona and No. 10 seed West Virginia on Sunday. Maryland has never lost in the first round under Frese.
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Holy Cross (24-8) enters the tournament winners of six straight as the Patriot League champion. The NCAA Tournament bid is the Crusaders’ first since 2007.
The other top teams in Greenville Region 1 include No. 1 overall seed South Carolina (32-0), No. 3 seed Notre Dame (25-5) and No. 4 seed UCLA (25-9).
The Terps ended the season ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after losing to Iowa in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament last weekend. However, the committee viewed Maryland as the eighth best team, which is why they’re in the same region as No. 1 South Carolina, the defending national champions.
Maryland (25-6) is accustomed to playing at home on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, as the Terps have been a top-four seed 15 times under Frese, including all but one of their last 16 tournament appearances. The Terps are 11-2 at Xfinity Center this season.
The Terps have been a No. 2 seed or higher 14 times in program history and eight times under Frese, including in 2006 when the program won its only national championship. Maryland was last a No. 2 seed in 2021.
The Terps haven’t advanced past the Sweet 16 since 2015, when they made it to the Final Four. As a No. 2 seed two years ago, Maryland was upset by No. 6 seed Texas in the Sweet 16. Last year, the Terps couldn’t make it to the Elite Eight, falling to No. 1 seed Stanford.
Earning a No. 2 seed in the tournament is yet another example of how the Terps outplayed the outside expectations this season. In the preseason, Maryland was ranked No. 15 and picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten by the league’s coaches due to the Terps’ roster overhaul. After the 2021-22 campaign, several Maryland players transferred out of the program, including All-Big Ten guards Angel Reese and Ashley Owusu. But Frese reloaded with nine new players, including five transfers and four freshmen.
The Terps won seven games against ranked opponents and went 25-6 against one of the most difficult schedules in the nation, including a 15-3 mark in Big Ten play. Senior guard Diamond Miller (19.7 points per game), sophomore point guard Shyanne Sellers (13.8) and graduate transfer guard Abby Meyers (14.5) were all voted as All-Big Ten selections.
NCAA Tournament first round
No. 15 seed Holy Cross at No. 2 seed Maryland
Friday, 2:30 p.m.
TV: ESPNEWS