Maryland women’s basketball will face Michigan State in Big Ten semifinals

Maryland women’s basketball will take on Michigan State tomorrow in the second Big Ten semifinal.

The game will start 25 minutes after the end of Ohio State-Purdue, which is scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m.

The Terps beat Minnesota 92-80 in the quarterfinals, their third win over the Golden Gophers this season. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough led Maryland with 28 points, and did not miss in the second half. Brionna Jones had 14 points and 13 rebounds for her 21st double-double of the season, and Kaila Charles added 15 points and six rebounds.

The Spartans came into the tournament as the 6-seed, and defeated No. 11-seed Wisconsin 70-63 and No. 3 Michigan 74-64. Michigan State had four players in double figures against the Wolverines, and redshirt freshman Victoria Gaines led the way with 18 points. Tori Jankoska also had a solid game, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Michigan was never able to get anything going offensively, despite Kysre Gondrezick, Katelynn Flaherty, and Hallie Thome combining for 57 points. The Wolverines shot 35.7 percent from the field, and the rest of the team combined for just seven points.

The Terps led wire-to-wire and defeated the Spartans 89-72 in their only meeting this season on Feb. 12 in East Lansing. Jones had 28 points and 15 rebounds in the win, and Walker-Kimbrough added 24 points.

The two teams also met up in last year’s Big Ten tournament final, with Maryland winning 60-44.

The Terps still appear to be on a collision course with Ohio State, as the Buckeyes crushed Northwestern 99-68 and tied the tournament record for most points in a game. But both teams will have to stay focused, as their opponents are looking to improve NCAA Tournament resumes.

ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme has Michigan State as a 9-seed and Purdue in the Next Four Out category heading into today’s games.