COLLEGE PARK — Its last time on the court, Maryland women’s basketball collapsed in the second half en route to a 20-point home loss to an unranked opponent. On Monday, the Terps played their best basketball after the break.

Maryland’s 85-77 win over Michigan featured a second half where the Terps erased their halftime deficit and outscored the Wolverines by 10. A victory like this, where little went Maryland’s way, was badly needed.

“We’ve really challenged this group through our practices the last couple days and fighting through fatigue,” coach Brenda Frese said. “I mean, that’s where everyone’s at this time of year.”

Sarah Te-Biasu led Maryland with 21 points and three 3-pointers. Shyanne Sellers, who exited the game after being helped off the court in the final minute because of an injury but said postgame she feels fine, finished with 18 points and six rebounds.

“I just fell right on [my knee]. I’m getting old. I can’t keep falling,” Sellers quipped after the game.

The Terps, who had lost five of their previous eight games before Monday, looked for an end to a rut that had them sliding down the Big Ten standings as questions about their March potential grew. This result doesn’t quell those concerns, but Maryland hopes it can be a victory that propels a late-season turnaround to enter the postseason on a high note.

Its most recent loss dropped Maryland to fifth in the Big Ten standings before Monday’s games, a notable position — the top four teams at season’s end receive a double bye in the conference tournament that begins in two weeks.

“This is what it looks like for us. They’re all going to be hard,” Frese said. “You’ve gotta go take it in order to win in league play.”

Perhaps a large reason for those struggles is the loss of junior guard Bri McDaniel, who tore her ACL in January and will not return this year. Maryland (20-6, 10-5) hasn’t figured out how to replace her production on both ends, leading to disjointed offensive stretches and increasingly common defensive lapses.

But the Terps have largely been at full strength otherwise. They have the pieces necessary for a postseason push.

Their deficiencies were evident in the first half Monday. Maryland trailed 22-15 after the first quarter then trimmed that deficit to just two entering halftime, erasing its slow start by closing the half on a 7-0 run and making its eventual comeback more manageable. Still, the same sluggish offense that’s hindered them in recent weeks persisted as the Terps shot just 3-for-12 from 3-point range in the opening half.

Te-Biasu led the way in the third quarter, scoring nine of Maryland’s 22 points to leap ahead 60-59 entering the fourth. A back-and-forth final period saw several lead changes until the Terps pulled away in the final minutes. Te-Biasu hit a pair of quick jumpers to give her team a six-point lead with under five minutes to play, then Sellers, Christina Dalce and Kaylene Smikle sank clutch free throws to maintain that advantage in the eight-point victory.

“Our third quarters are an emphasis,” Saylor Poffenbarger said. “We came out kind of on our heels, and we had to put the pressure back on them.”

Sellers also became the first player in program history to score 1,500 career points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in the win.

“I’m grateful to be in the position that I’m in. It really means nothing, though,” the senior guard said. “Our goal is to win and make it far in the tournament.”

Three more games remain this regular season. Maryland travels to Northwestern on Thursday and Indiana next week, then hosts No. 8 Ohio State on March 2. The Terps need to make up ground in the standings to earn the Big Ten tournament’s coveted double bye, but that’s just one benchmark for a team that has larger ones in mind.

Frese’s team hasn’t gotten past the Elite Eight in 10 years. They weren’t included in the top-16 ranking released by the tournament selection committee Sunday, which Frese said she didn’t discuss with the group but added Maryland might be more comfortable playing on the road anyway. At points this season, this seemed like the roster capable of breaking that trend. Monday’s win, which featured another Sellers injury scare and required a second-half comeback, is only a small step toward that, and it’s at least not a move further in the wrong direction.

“We control our own destiny,” Frese said. “The conference prepares you. That’s the beauty of what it’ll look like in March. You’re battle-tested.”

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