A blowout loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals didn’t shake the confidence of Maryland women’s basketball. It didn’t affect the NCAA selection committee’s belief in the Terps, either.

In a mild surprise, Maryland was one of 16 teams that was selected to host the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, with the No. 4 seed Terps (23-7, 13-5 Big Ten) set to take on No. 13 seed Norfolk State (30-4, 14-0 MEAC) on Saturday in the opening round.

The honor of hosting comes despite a 7-6 record in the Terps’ final 13 games, dampening what was a red-hot 16-1 start to the season. The Terps hope their best basketball is yet to come despite four double-digit losses in their final 11 games, including a 27-point defeat to Michigan in the conference tournament on March 7.

“We still got a chip in our shoulder,” said senior guard Shyanne Sellers, who will play in her final game at Xfinity Center in College Park this weekend. “I think people don’t respect us in the way that they should. I think we have something to prove this time.”

Even with a slower finish to the season, Maryland’s roster still holds plenty of firepower.

Sellers, an All-Big Ten first-team selection, averages 14.2 points per game and a team-best 4.2 assists. Kaylene Smikle, a junior guard, leads the team averaging 17.8 points per game. Senior forward Christina Dalce and redshirt junior Saylor Poffenbarger each pace the Terps with 7.7 rebounds per contest. Maryland won 13 of its 23 games by double digits.

Brenda Frese’s team has a victory over Duke, the ACC Tournament champion, among its eight Quad 1 wins, which ranks fifth in the country. A home victory over Ohio State to cap the regular season and five wins over ranked opponents also headline the Terps’ resume as they make a 15th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and the 21st in 23 seasons under Frese.

“This team has always shown me great resiliency and great competitiveness,” Frese said Sunday night after a watch party with her team for the bracket reveal. “Every time we’ve been knocked down, whether it be with an injury, with a loss, we’ve always come back and responded and that’s because of how competitive this locker room is.”

Maryland lost standout guard Bri McDaniel for the season in January with a torn ACL, and Sellers has battled a knee injury for most of the campaign, wearing a bulky brace that at times has limited her do-everything ability to stuff the stat sheet. A couple of extra days off after the Terps’ early Big Ten Tournament exit has her knee “feeling a lot better,” and the potential WNBA first-round draft pick plans to remind everyone just how good she and the Terps can be.

“The Big Ten Tournament wasn’t us,” she said. “I know we’re about to make a deep run.”

The Terps aim to start that run with a win over Norfolk State, which cruised to its third consecutive MEAC Tournament title by an average margin of victory of 25.7 points. The Spartans travel to College Park on a 19-game winning streak, and they have notable wins over Missouri and Auburn. The Terps will need a solid showing to advance to the second round over a mid-major program with 30 victories this season.

NC State transfer and MEAC Player of the Year Diamond Johnson, who Sellers calls the “head of the snake,” averages 19 points per game, while 6-foot-1 forward Kierra Wheeler averages 15.6 points and 9 rebounds and just earned MEAC Tournament MVP honors. Former Poly star Da’Brya Clark, a third-team All-MEAC selection, averages 9.6 points per game and shoots a team-best 42.3% from 3-point range.

If Maryland wins Saturday, it will host either No. 5 seed Alabama or No. 12 seed Green Bay on Monday at a time to be announced. After that, the Sweet 16 awaits in Birmingham, Alabama, potentially against three-time national champion and No. 1 seed South Carolina. UCLA, which beat Maryland, 82-67, on Jan. 26, received the No. 1 overall seed a week after securing the Big Ten Tournament championship in Indianapolis with a victory over fellow No. 1 seed Southern California. Texas, the SEC Tournament runner-up, is the other top seed.

The Final Four is April 4-6 in Tampa, Florida.

Baltimore Sun sports editor Bennett Conlin contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon.