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GREENSBORO Maryland got one of the greatest individual efforts in the history of the ACC women’s tournament on Friday night.
So did Wake Forest.
Maryland’s two-time player of the year Alyssa Thomas had the first triple-double in the history of the tournament, pouring in a career-high 32 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Terps held off the upset-minded Deacons 92-81 in overtime.
The No. 2 seed Terps (24-6) will play either No. 3 seed UNC or No. 11 seed Boston College, who met in Friday’s nightcap, at 3:30 p.m Saturday.
The Terps prevailed despite a career-high 31 points from Wake guard Chelsea Douglas, the highest point total by a Deacon in tournament history.
Maryland, ranked No. 10 nationally, won both regular-season meetings with Wake Forest, 73-63 on Feb. 8 at Joel Coliseum and then 88-61 on Sunday in College Park.
The Terps also got 17 points and 12 rebounds from senior Tianna Hawkins, 14 points from Chloe Pavlech and 13 from Katie Rutan.
“It was just a tremendous game,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “Obviously neither team wanted to go home, and you can see what March Madness brings particularly in ACC Tournament play. We fought really hard, especially the second half.
“And obviously with (Thomas) I knew she wasn’t going to let us lose. What you see with her is what makes her the two-time player of the year. She can score the ball, lead and get assists and go to the glass. I’m proud of our effort. I thought we were really resilient in the overtime.”
The No. 10 seed Deacons (13-19) were coming off an impressive 86-67 first-round romp over Georgia Tech after losing both regular-season games to the Jackets.
