Feb. 9, 2012

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CLEMSON, S.C. - Lynetta Kizer scored 18 points and No. 8 Maryland had six players in double-figures to win their third straight game, 91-61, at Clemson Thursday night.

The Terrapins (21-3, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), won their 11th straight in the series and ran all over the Tigers (6-16, 2-9) at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Alicia DeVaughn scored 15, Alyssa Thomas and Tianna Hawkins had 14 each, Laurin Mincy 13 and Brene Moseley 10 as Maryland tied its highest ACC point total this season. The Terrapins also showed off some defense, forcing 25 turnovers off 14 steals.

Nikki Dixon had 17 points to lead the Tigers, but was just 4 of 14 from the field against Maryland's high-pressure defense.

Maryland kept within sight of ACC leaders in No. 5 Duke (11-0 in the league) and Miami (10-0). The Terrapins have a golden opportunity to close the gap in the next two weeks, facing Miami at home on Sunday and Duke at home a week later.

Maryland came in to this one off a milestone victory, a 64-56 win at Georgia Tech that gave the program 20 wins for the eighth consecutive season. And the Terrapins didn't let up at Clemson. Maryland forced turnovers on five straight Tigers possessions to run out to a 16-4 lead less than seven minutes in. Clemson could not hold on against the ACC's highest scoring team.

Thomas had 11 points in the opening half while Kizer had eight consecutive points down the stretch as Maryland took a 20-point lead in the final minutes of the opening half. The Terrapins did just about everything right the first 20 minutes. They shot 50 percent (15 of 30) and made all but one of their 14 foul shots. They held Clemson to 2 of 13 shooting from behind the arc and forced 16 turnovers in the period.

Maryland kept up the pressure throughout the second half. When Clemson cut the lead to 65-47 with 9:18 to go, the Terrapins answered with a 31-7 charge over the next six minutes. It was Maryland's fourth ACC win of 21 points or more.

The Terps won the battle on the glass, 39-33, with six each from Hawkins and Kizer. DeVaughn added career-highs with six blocks and four steals.

The game served as a remembrance of the late Kay Yow with both teams wearing pink in their uniforms -- Clemson had pink shorts while the Terrapins had pink socks -- to honor the North Carolina State coach who died of breast cancer in 2009.

Thomas was named to the U.S. Basketball Writers' Association's Midseason Watch List Thursday, which features the nation's top 20 players that are in consideration for the USBWA's National Player of the Year award.

Next, the Terrapins will return home to take on No. 6 Miami (21-3, 10-1) Sunday afternoon. Tip time is now set for 2:50 p.m. It will be the Terps' annual Play4Kay game to support breast cancer awareness. Tickets to the Terps-Hurricanes game are still available at umterps.com. To help the Terps pack the wall, buy your $1 wall ticket today by visiting the Terrapin Ticket Office online or by calling 1-800-IM-A-TERP.

Breast cancer survivors are invited to come for free and their friends and family can purchase discounted tickets for $1 by emailing Terpsports@umd.edu.

Survivors are also invited to participate in the Healing With Basketball exercise clinic on Feb. 11. Participants will be recognized at halftime of the Terps'-Miami game. For more information, log on to www.healingwithbasketball.org.

Sunday's game will be shown on ESPN2 and ESPN3 and will also be broadcast on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network and can be heard on CBS 1300 AM and 930 WFMD.

Maryland is ranked No. 8 in both the latest Associated Press poll and the latest ESPN/USA Today Division I Top 25 Coaches' poll.

NOTE: Maryland signee Malina Howard (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg High School) was named a McDonald's All-American Thursday. She will play in the 11th Annual Girls Game to be played on March 28 at Chicago's United Center. Full team rosters are available at www.mcdaag.com.

Frese has signed 12 McDonald's All-Americans in her 10 years at Maryland. Current Terrapins to earn the prestigious honor include Alicia DeVaughn, Lynetta Kizer and Laurin Mincy.

Howard is a 6-3 post player that was named the top-ranked post player in the country, according to ESPN's Hoop Gurlz. She is the No. 6 overall player out of the 2012 class. She won gold with the U.S. Under-19 team at the World Championships this past summer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.