Terps come through on Senior Day

The Terrapin women's basketball team was not going to lose Sunday.

Not after a tear-filled ceremony before the game honoring the winningest senior class in program history on Senior Day.

Not when senior forward Crystal Langhorne's No. 1 jersey was honored with a new banner in the Comcast Center rafters afterward.

And not on the day coach Brenda Frese made it back for the festivities, just one week after giving birth to twins.

The Terps made a late comeback that they didn't complete until there was less than five seconds left in regulation and eventually pulled away in overtime for an emotional 92-84 win over Florida State in front of a season-high 16,135 fans at Comcast Center.

"I'm just excited we were able to get the win for [the seniors]," Frese said. "[It's] a phenomenal day for Maryland basketball."

Frese spoke with the media after the game for the first time since she gave birth last Sunday and twice had to pause to regain her composure.

"It did take a lot for me to get here today. I'm not going to lie about that," Frese said as she began to weep. "But I'm really lucky to have the support from so many great people to be able to help me get here today."

Emotions had been high since the Senior Day ceremony hours earlier, when forwards Langhorne, Laura Harper and Jade Perry and guards Ashleigh Newman and Christie Marrone were honored before their last regular-season home game.

The Terps admitted that emotions may have played a role in the first half, when both teams struggled to find a rhythm offensively.

The Terps' committed 16 of their 23 turnovers before halftime but led 32-31 at the break.

"This day just means so much to this program and for us," Harper said. "There was just so much emotions going into it that sometimes it's hard to shake those off a little bit."

After the Terps calmed down a bit in the second half and took a 49-38 lead with 15:13 remaining, the Seminoles went on a 14-0 run helped by Terp turnovers on four consecutive possessions.

The teams then mostly traded baskets, with neither leading by more than three until Harper went to the bench with her fourth foul with 5:39 remaining. Seminoles sophomore guard Alysha Harvin's two free throws after Harper's loose-ball foul started an 8-2 run that continued after Harper returned to the game just more than a minute later, and the Seminoles led 71-63 heading into the last media timeout with 3:42 remaining.

"Senior Day is not going to be Senior Day if we don't win this game," Harper said.

With the Seminoles also in foul trouble, the Terps inched closer in the final few minutes, and a driving layup by junior guard Kristi Toliver cut the Seminoles lead to 75-74 with 35 seconds remaining.

After Harvin made one of two free throws, the Terps nearly turned it over on their next possession when the Seminoles forced a jump ball but the possession arrow gave the ball back to the Terps.

On take two, junior forward Marissa Coleman scored the game-tying layup with 4.9 seconds left on a backdoor cut after getting a great bounce pass from Langhorne, sending the game into overtime.

"When Marissa hit that shot it was just like 'Thank the Lord,'" Harper said. "We just couldn't buy a bucket to get over that hump, and finally we did."

The Seminoles simply weren't able to keep up with the Terps for another five minutes in overtime, and the Terps had the game.

The Terps scored on 15 consecutive possessions during the end of regulation and overtime.

After the game, most of the fourth-largest crowd in ACC history stayed to see Langhorne's banner unfurled in the rafters.

Frese and Langhorne each addressed the crowd over the public address system.

"That's going to be really weird to see my name and my number up there," Langhorne said afterward. "I'm just really honored that Maryland wanted to do that for me."

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