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Maryland Miracle: Kaila Charles, Terps stun Minnesota in waning seconds

By Jasmine Brown

COLLEGE PARK, MD - FEBRUARY 21: Maryland Terrapins guard Kaila Charles (5) with guard Sara Vujacic (32) after scoring the winning basket at the buzzer during a women's college basketball game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Minnesota Golden Gophers, on February 21, 2019, at Xfinity Center, in College Park, Maryland.(Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - FEBRUARY 21: Maryland Terrapins guard Kaila Charles (5) with guard Sara Vujacic (32) after scoring the winning basket at the buzzer during a women's college basketball game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Minnesota Golden Gophers, on February 21, 2019, at Xfinity Center, in College Park, Maryland.(Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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How Maryland found a way to win

COLLEGE PARK, MD — Eighteen years ago, Brenda Frese coached Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen in her lone season at Minnesota.

Thursday night, she stood on the sideline alongside her former pupil, coaching her team in hopes of getting a victory. The teacher edged the pupil, 71-69.

Full circle endings are a thing of beauty. However, when the game slips right from under you in less than a minute because of Kaila Charles, well, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Frese saw it that way. how she loved how the game ended.

“You know this really ranks up there in just a special, special win for us,” Frese said. “Just loved the way we had to fight, claw, and scratch. I think it speaks volumes to the character and the competitiveness in the locker room.”

What else did we learn Thursday night? Takeaways:

Minnesota’s win probability was 99.8% with 53 seconds left

With only 53 seconds left, the game all but belonged to the Gophers. For Maryland it would have been a second straight loss for the first time this season and elevated Iowa to at least a share of first place.

Instead, this happened: junior Stephanie Jones made two free throws after a foul was called. With 26 seconds left, and Minnesota up 69-67, it was now an 80.4% chance for Minnesota to win the game. However, Charles took the ball down the lane and scored a layup to tie the game.

After almost holding the Gophers down to the point of shot-clock violation, the Charles fouls with a foul to give boosted the chances of Minnesota winning to 90.3%. Minnesota with the inbound, Shakira Austin’s tipped ball and Charles’ game-winning lay-in, the Gophers suddenly found themselves with a zero percent chance of winning, the game now over.

Briana Fraser goes down in injury

In the early minutes of the game, senior Briana Fraser went down holding her leg. She walked off the court on her own strength, but later came back into the game with crutches. She is day-to-day, but with her being the only senior on the team, her return is critical for a team that is two games away from winning their fifth straight B1G regular season title, and a few weeks from the NCAA Tournament.

Kaila Charles game winner

After an uncharacteristic game in Iowa on Sunday, Kaila Charles bounced back with 29 points, scoring 21 in the second half, along with eight rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. This was the kind of leadership and aggressiveness Charles has shown all season, but Charles took it to another level, her coach said.

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“I said this in the locker room, you always want that to play out the way it did for Kaila tonight, the responsibility that she holds and wants, the ownership,” Frese said following the game. “To come off of a tough game at Iowa, to flip it that quickly to end the game is why she is such a tremendous winner and competitor and why we trust her so much. Just a night we all won’t forget.”

That included a game-winner that will rank among the season’s best highlights, along with the rapidly growing set of memories Charles is leaving at College Park.

“When she deflected it I just saw the ball and just said go get it,” Charles said following the game. “I knew we had like four or fie seconds so I was just trying to get to the rim and draw a foul and it went in and that was it. I’m just glad because that play wouldn’t have happened if Shakira didn’t tip the ball.”

With just two games left, Maryland can clinch the B1G regular season title barring any losses. The program sits at 996-425, four games shy of reaching a program record of 1,000 wins. They’ll go on the road to face Purdue. Tip off starts Monday at 6:30 p.m. EST on Big Ten Network.

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