SEC guard writes her name in NCAA Tournament record book in 2OT performance

Sarah Ashley Barker may have raised WNBA Draft stocks on Monday. At the very least, she wrote her name down in the NCAA Tournament record book in Sharpie.

The fifth-seeded senior Alabama Crimson Tide guard swayed furiously in the final game of his college career, scoring 45 points in a double overtime loss at 111-108 No. 4 Maryland.

Barker's Point Total is Alabama's single-game program record, tied the fourth point ever scored by one player in the NCAA Tournament. The tied players are Ohio State Kelsey Mitchell, with the players ranked before her being Lori Bauman (50 in 1982), Cheryl Sowps (47 in 1993) and Jane Appel (46 in 2009).

The 6-foot senior from Birmingham, long remembered as an incredible performance at College Park, Maryland, shot 25-17 from the floor, six-quarters from the 3-point land and seven-seven from the free throw line. She also had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in 45 minutes of play against the Terps.

Barker's three-pointer near the end of the fourth quarter gave Alabama a 37-second lead, but Maryland's Salatevias responded with his own deep shot and sent the game into overtime. At the end of the first extra period, Barker knocked down three consecutive free throws and had no time left to send the game to the second OT.

At the end of the last overtime, a shot by Barker's teammate missed the mark and Tevias came up with a steal to seal Maryland's victory.

This was the first double overtime game in the Women's NCAA Tournament between the 2022 Elite 8 Games and NC State and UConn. This was the first double overtime game Maryland has played since 2008.

Barker's Alabama victory would have put the Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1998. Instead, Maryland will move forward for the second weekend for the first time in five years.

But Alabama fans will always remember this performance by Barker, the daughter of a former Alabama quarterback.