Their bus broke down on the way to Connecticut, they didn?t arrive to their hotel until 3:45 a.m. Saturday morning and then they lost their opening-round NCAA tournament game by 49 points.
Still, the members of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County women?s basketball team have never been happier. Following an 82-33 loss to Connecticut Sunday in the school?s first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament, the Retrievers were still upbeat.
“No one associated with this program will ever forget what we experienced this week,” UMBC coach Phil Stern said. “The players competed hard, enjoyed the atmosphere and represented UMBC in the best way possible.”
UMBC, which finished the season at 16-17, slowed the game down and did all it could to hang with Connecticut on Sunday. The five-time former national champion Huskies only led, 29-20, before closing out the first half on a 12-0 run and running away in the second half. In the end, Connecticut was just “too big, too strong and too fast” for UMBC, Sternsaid.
The final score was of secondary importance to the Retrievers, according to Stern, whose team accomplished its ultimate goal of winning the America East Conference tournament last week after losing seven of 10 games to end the regular season.
Getting to play in the NCAA tournament, Stern added, was an invaluable experience that can only help his team build toward the future.
“There aren?t any teams like UConn that play in the America East,” Stern said. “We came out against them and connected on some early threes and did a good job getting some backdoor cuts. We can only learn from this experience.”
While Sunday?s loss marked the final games for UMBC seniors Sharri Rohde, Brittnie Hughes and Heather Lutrell, three starters return for the Retrievers next year. Junior guard Kristin Drabyn is among those players ready to make another run next year for UMBC.
“This weekend was great, and it was especially great to do this with this group of girls,” Drabyn said. “Despite the score, we never stopped fighting. This was the perfect way to send our seniors out on a high note. We already feel like we have more confidence going into next season, and we know what it takes to get back here.”
