Box Score COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The ninth-ranked Maryland women's basketball team beat a tough Ohio State squad, 87-78, Monday night at XFINITY Center in the Terrapins' first conference game as a member of the Big Ten.
Sophomore Brionna Jones had a career night to lead the Terps (10-2, 1-0 B1G) with 23 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and a career-best four blocks. Sophomore Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 18 points and nine rebounds, while Lexie Brown added 12 points, including 10 in the second half, to help seal the win.
Redshirt senior Laurin Mincy picked up her second career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds along with six assists and junior Tierney Pfirman added 14 points and six rebounds off the bench.
"I'm really proud of how we handled the game," head coach Brenda Frese said. "This game was a game of runs which made it really fun to watch. It was like a track meet because both teams were really up tempo and aggressive. I really liked our attention to detail in terms of our game plan and our unselfishness in terms of having five players in double figures.
"We just beat a really good team. Ohio State is a really good team, so it's a good way for us to start the intense battles that lie ahead for in us in conference play."
The Terrapins led the Buckeyes (8-5, 0-1) through most of the first half. A layup by Jones at 7:04 put the Terps up by seven at 33-26. After a timeout by Ohio State, the Buckeyes closed the gap over the next few minutes to tie the game at 37 with 2:36 to play.
Buckets by freshman Kiara Leslie and Walker-Kimbrough helped the Terrapins take a 43-40 lead into the break.
Brown got hot and made her first four shots in the second half. A jumper by Pfirman with 14:42 to play jumpstarted an 11-0 Maryland run that gave them a 68-55 lead before an Ohio State timeout with 10 minutes to play. Brown sunk two three-pointers in the run.
A three by Ohio State's Cait Craft cut it to a four-point game with 2:43 to play, then Jones added seven points down the stretch to clinch the victory.
Maryland outrebounded Ohio State, 59-37, and outscored the Buckeyes in the paint 46-22.
In the 13 years under Frese, the Terps are 13-4 (.765) against their new conference opponents. Frese is 25-10 (.714) all-time vs. Big Ten opponents, which includes her time at Minnesota (2001-02) and at Ball State (1999-01).
The Terrapins lead the Big Ten and are second in the country with their field goal percentage of 49.9 percent behind only Connecticut. The Terps are eighth in the nation with their free throw percentage of 76.5 percent to lead the Big Ten as well. Walker-Kimbrough and Mincy are Nos. 3 and No. 4 in the Big Ten in free throw percentage and Walker-Kimbrough is No. 21 in the nation with her 86.7 percent.
Maryland is ranked No. 9 in the USA Today Division I Coaches poll and No. 14 in the latest Associated Press poll.
Next, the Terrapins will play at No. 14 Nebraska (10-1) Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The Terps-Huskers game will be televised nationally on CBS and CBSSports.com.
Live Stats will be available for the Terps' game at Nebraska. Live updates will also be posted to the Maryland Women's Basketball Twitter feed.
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