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Takeaways: Big Ten tournament quarterfinals

By Blake DuDonis

COLLEGE PARK, MD - FEBRUARY 21: Scorer of the winning basket Maryland Terrapins guard Kaila Charles (5) with center Olivia Owens (35) and guard Taylor Mikesell (11) at the end of 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: Scorer of the winning basket Maryland Terrapins guard Kaila Charles (5) with center Olivia Owens (35) and guard Taylor Mikesell (11) at the end of 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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COLLEGE PARK, MD – FEBRUARY 21: Scorer of the winning basket Maryland Terrapins guard Kaila Charles (5) with center Olivia Owens (35) and guard Taylor Mikesell (11) at the end of 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: Scorer of the winning basket Maryland Terrapins guard Kaila Charles (5) with center Olivia Owens (35) and guard Taylor Mikesell (11) at the end of 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) /

Chalk won out in the quarters after a wild and crazy first two rounds of the B1G tournament.

In a season full of surprising upsets and extreme parity, perhaps no league in the country had quite the mixed bag of results like the Big Ten. Appropriately enough, the conference tournament has followed that same theme with all four lower seeds winning in the second round, including an improbable run by Wisconsin.

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While the upsets early were fun, the quarterfinals proved that the cream rises to the top, with the top four seeds (Maryland, Iowa, Rutgers, and Michigan) all advancing. All four games had a unique storyline, and we’ll break them down now.

#1 Maryland 71, #9 Michigan State 55

On January 17, Maryland headed to East Lansing hoping to pick up a tough road win. What they got instead was a beatdown.

A 77-60 loss to the Spartans could have put some doubt in the heads of Maryland, but instead, they went on to win their next eight games and now 12 of their last 13.

“You know, they might have seen a few clips from the first time,” said Maryland head coach Brenda Frese in reference to the January loss. “What I love about this team is yesterday this is who they wanted to play, and so again, they’re just extremely competitive when they learn lessons. They take those lessons and want to get better, and I thought they were able to do that today.”

The Terps were led by junior Kaila Charles’ 21 points and 10 rebounds, but the defensive end was where the game was really won.

A 6-for-26 start from the field put the Spartans in a tough hole, and they nearly dug themselves out. After drawing within two points right after halftime, however, the Spartans were outscored 25-10 in the third quarter and never had a chance after that.

“I just want to know if we can play that third quarter over,” said Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant. “Just give Maryland credit. I thought they just definitely had a little more edge to them. I thought the first time we played them and being at our place, I thought we definitely had that kind of edge to us, and give them a lot of credit.”

Michigan State’s record falls to 20-11 and will wait to hear their NCAA tournament fate next Monday, while Maryland improves to 27-3 and will face Michigan. Speaking of…

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