TOWSON, Md. – Alyssa Thomas had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 8 Maryland used a late run in the first half to pull away for a 90-53 victory at Towson Saturday night.
Laurin Mincy and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 14 points each for Maryland (4-1), which has won two straight. Brene Moseley added 11 points and Brionna Jones notched 10 for the Terps. Thomas had her fourth straight double-double in the first half with 15 points,10 rebounds in the first period alone.
The Terps' bench outscored the Tigers', 56-7. Maryland owned the inside game, outscoring the Tigers, 48-14 inside and owning a 46-21 rebounding advantage. We knew that Towson did a really nice job rebounding the basketball, so that was an emphasis for us. I thought we did a really nice job of sharing the basketball, being really unselfish, especially in our transition. We were able to get going and I thought Brene had a great command of the game.”
Tanisha McTiller led Towson (1-4) with a season-high 25 points. Dominique Johnson added 11 points for the Tigers, who have lost two in a row.
Thomas had five points during the decisive 12-0 run late in the first half that blew the game open. Maryland's bench outscored Towson's reserves 56-7.
Two free throws by Dominique Johnson pulled Towson within 22-21 with 6:46 remaining in the first half before the Terrapins turned up the pressure over a three-minute stretch.
Jones knocked down two foul shots, Thomas converted a steal into a three-point play and then followed with a transition layup for a 29-21 edge. Jones' three-point play and two free throws by Mincy extended the lead to 13. Maryland led 46-30 at the break.
The Terrapins continued to push it in the second half, with Malina Howard scoring all eight of her points in the period. A three by Mincy with just over 14 minutes to play put the Terps up by 20 and they never looked back. Walker-Kimbrough went on a 10-0 run herself at 6:45 that pushed the Terrapins over the 30-point lead mark.
The Terrapins will return home to host Drexel Monday at 7 p.m. and will host a pregame food drive. All fans are asked to bring non-perishable food items to donate. For tickets, log on to umterps.com.
The Terps-Dragon game can be seen online for a fee through TerpsTV Premium on umterps.com. Live stats will be available and updates will be at https://twitter.com/umdwbb.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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