WBB March Madness Round of 32 preview: No. 7 Arizona vs. No. 2 Maryland

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Nathanial Stenchever

Jade Loville (30), a guard on the Arizona women’s basketball team, takes a shot on Jan. 29 in McKale Center. The Wildcats would lose the divisional game against Washington State University 70-59.

Nathaniel Levin

Arizona women’s basketball looked back in their midseason form, cruising to a 75-62 victory over the No. 10-seeded West Virginia University in the Round of 64 on Friday, March 17. However, the Wildcats will be tested come Sunday when they face the No. 2-seeded University of Maryland on the Terrapins’ home court in the Round of 32 on Sunday, March 19, at 2:30 p.m.

Previewing No. 2 Maryland (26-6)

In their first-round matchup, No. 2-seeded Maryland defeated the No. 15-seeded College of the Holy Cross 93-61 on Friday, March 17. The Terrapins enter Sunday’s matchup with a record of 26-6 and having won eight of their last nine games. Maryland’s resume includes wins over the University of Connecticut, the University of Notre Dame, Baylor University, the University of Iowa and Ohio State University (twice), all of which, except No. 7 Baylor, are top-three seeds in the tournament.

The Terrapins are led by senior guard Diamond Miller, senior guard Abby Meyers, and sophomore guard Shyanne Sellers. Miller is one of the top players in the nation and was recently named on both the AP All-American second team and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-American second team.

Additionally, Miller leads Maryland in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.5 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game. She is followed by Meyers, who ranks second in both categories on the team with 14.6 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game. Sellers ranks third for the Terrapins in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game, while also averaging 4.9 rebounds per game. However, Sellers leads the team in assists, averaging 3.7 assists per game this season.

Miller also leads the Terrapins in steals and blocks, with 2.0 and 1.3 per game, respectively.

A total of three head-to-head meetings have occurred between the Wildcats and the Terrapins, and Maryland was victorious in all three of these matchups. However, this will be the first meeting for the teams since 2006, which was also played at Maryland.


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