COLLEGE PARK - This time, quantity was better than quality.
Second-seeded Ohio State's wide array of offensive weapons overpowered seventh-seeded Maryland, and the Terps' hopes for their first trip to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 in 13 years were dashed in a 75-65 loss in a Philadelphia Regional second-round contest before 4,062 at Comcast Center last night.
Ohio State, which improved to 30-4, advanced to its first Sweet 16 since 1993 and will meet third-seeded Rutgers in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Last night's setback not only dropped Maryland to 22-10, but it also marked the third consecutive time the Terps whiffed in a bid for a berth in the Sweet 16.
Southwest Missouri State upended second-seeded Maryland, 86-82, in 1993, and fourth-seeded LSU stopped the 12th-seeded Terps, 76-61, last season.
The Buckeyes' victory revived memories of a similar outcome 19 years ago. Third-seeded Ohio State sent sixth-seeded Maryland home with an 87-71 loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Maryland, which had limited three of its past four opponents to 56 points or fewer, found no such success against a Buckeyes team that averaged 73 points a game before last night's contest.
Four Ohio State players - led by sophomore guard Brandie Hoskins with 22 points - reached double digits in points. Senior guard Caity Matter finished with 16, sophomore center Jessica Davenport 15 and sophomore forward Stephanie Blanton 12 as those four accounted for 65 of the Buckeyes' points.
By contrast, only Terps freshman center Crystal Langhorne (22 points), sophomore guard Kalika France (12) and freshman guard Ashleigh Newman (12) scored in double figures.
"From one to 13, we have people who can score," said Hoskins, who also chipped in with six rebounds and five assists. "Everyone can come in and contribute. Everybody played really well tonight."
That Davenport, the Big 10 Player of the Year; Matter, a second-team choice; and Hoskins, a third-team pick, played significant roles did not surprise Maryland coach Brenda Frese.
"We knew that their big three was very talented," Frese said. "Blanton was the difference. We were going to let her take shots. She stepped up big for them."
Langhorne, the 6-foot-3 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, paced the Terps with 22 points and 16 rebounds, out-dueling the 6-foot-4 Davenport. In collecting her 18th double double of the season, Langhorne tied the single-season record for double doubles set by Vicky Bullett during the 1987-88 season.
"It was tough offensively," Langhorne said of the matchup with Davenport, a finalist for the Naismith Award. "But I think I did an OK job."
Sophomore guard Shay Doron, who scored 26 points in a first-round win against 10th-seeded Wisconsin-Green Bay on Sunday, was limited to nine points on 3-for-15 shooting and committed a game-high five turnovers.
Maryland opened the game seemingly unfazed by their (3-4) record against ranked teams and trailed by just 35-34 at halftime.
Ohio State opened the second half by outscoring the Terps 6-4 and taking a 41-38 advantage with 17:32 left.
France fed Langhorne for a layup and converted a steal by draining a short jumper to cap a 6-2 run that helped the Terps gain a 44-43 edge.
But three-pointers by Matter and Blanton highlighted a 10-2 surge that enabled the Buckeyes to re-assume a 53-46 lead --- their largest advantage to that point - with 14:06 left in the period.
Back-to-back baskets by Newman cut the deficit to three at 53-50 with 11:42 left, but senior guard Ashley Allen drained a three-pointer and a jumper at the foul line to key an 11-3 Ohio State burst to make the score 64-53 in the Buckeyes' favor with 4:22 left.
Maryland never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The Terps, who boasted a 7.2 rebounding margin, dominated the boards early, corralling 10 rebounds to the Buckeyes' three in the first 5:31.
But over the rest of the game, the tide turned in favor of the Buckeyes, who out-rebounded Maryland, 36-26, the rest of the way.
