Alabama women’s basketball held a 17-point lead in the second half. Guard Sarah Ashlee Barker scored a career-high 45 points.

And yet, by the time the final buzzer sounded, Alabama’s season was over. The Crimson Tide missed out on the Sweet 16 yet again, having not played in it since 1998.

Key players fouling out for No. 5 seed Alabama opened the door for No. 4 seed Maryland to push through and outlast the Crimson Tide 111-108 in double overtime in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in College Park, Maryland on Monday. The Terrapins advance to face No. 1 seed South Carolina on Friday in Birmingham.

Here’s how it happened.

Alabama vs. Maryland: first half

Alabama started strong, making its first four shots it attempted. But turnovers and getting beat on the boards slowed Alabama in the first quarter.

At the end of the opening frame, the Crimson Tide had four turnovers to Maryland’s three. Meanwhile, Maryland held an 11-8 advantage on the glass. The Terrapins took advantage of both, scoring seven points off turnovers and seven second-chance points. Alabama didn’t manage any second-chance points in the first quarter. As a result, the Crimson Tide squandered its early 6-3 lead, and the Terrapins led 19-15 at the end of the first quarter.

Maryland then grew the lead to 10 early in the second quarter. But the Terrapins started to stumble while Alabama made plays. The Crimson Tide produced an 8-0 run over 1:05, and that combined with three Maryland turnovers over 1:42 about midway through the second quarter brought the Crimson Tide back within a possession.

Barker made two layups to begin the run. Then, to make it a 10-0 run, Barker sunk another shot to tie the game at 33-33 with 3:55 left in the first half. Barker kept rolling, making a triple to give Alabama a 36-35 lead, its first lead since the first quarter.

Barker became a scoring force in the second quarter, finishing with 12 points in the second frame and 17 total in the first half. Her turnovers proved problematic, though. She tallied four in the second quarter and six overall in the first half.

But Barker didn’t let the turnovers frustrate her. Barker capped off the first half by hitting two free throws right before halftime. Alabama held a 41-39 lead going into the locker room.

Second half

Then the Crimson Tide put together a 7-0 run over about a minute in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter. Aaliyah Nye hit a triple to fuel that run as Alabama jumped out to a 48-41 lead before Maryland could blink.

That grew into an 18-4 run for the Crimson Tide, capped with a 3-pointer from Barker, who limited her turnovers. During that span, Maryland went cold on offense, missing six consecutive field goals. Alabama’s takeover had begun, up 59-45 with 3:59 left in the third quarter.

Alabama eventually grew that lead to 62-45 with 3:28 left in the third quarter, the largest lead of the day for the Crimson Tide.

Maryland didn’t fold, though. The Terrapins closed the 17-point gap to six points almost midway through the fourth quarter. Maryland made five of its first six shots to open the final frame. Alabama led by only 73-67 with 6:09 left.

Once the Terrapins drew within six points, the two teams traded scoring punches. Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers made back-to-back buckets, including a triple, to bring Maryland within four. Two Maryland free throws later, and Alabama clung to a 78-76 lead with 2:41 left.

To make matters worse, Zaay Green fouled out with 2:54 left. Then Nye fouled out with 1:01 left. That fifth foul from Nye gave Maryland the opportunity to hit both free throws to tie the game at 80-80 with one minute left.

Barker wasn’t done, though. The next possession, she hit a 3-pointer. Then Maryland responded with one of its own to tie the game once again at 83-83 with 12 seconds left.

Alabama couldn’t cash in on the final possession of regulation. So, the game went to overtime. And it had to do so without Green and Nye, two of the Crimson Tide’s top three scorers.

Overtime, and a second overtime

The Crimson Tide kept battling, even without a few key players. Alabama trailed 95-93 with 27 seconds left in the first overtime but had a possession. Then the Crimson Tide missed two shots. The ball went out of bounds on Alabama, and Maryland had a chance to close out the game. But it didn’t.

Then, in the back-and-forth game, the Crimson Tide had one last possession, down three. Barker attempted a 3-pointer from beyond the arc in the final seconds. She missed, but all was not lost. She was fouled. So she got to attempt three free throws.

And she made all three. Barker sent the game to a second overtime.

Alabama continued to fight, but Maryland outscored the Crimson Tide 15-12 in the second overtime. Barker scored six points off three shots in the final overtime period, but Maryland kept answering the Crimson Tide.

Alabama had one last opportunity to tie it, but the Crimson Tide couldn’t find a way to send it to a third overtime.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for Follow him on X and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.