COLLEGE PARK, Md.  –  Lexie Brown scored 19 points, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 17 and No. 5 Maryland remained unbeaten in the Big Ten with its 16th consecutive victory, 80-69 over No. 18 Rutgers on Tuesday night at XFINITY Center.

Maryland (22-2, 13-0) responded to multiple Rutgers offensive threats to cut into the lead before Brown connected from beyond the arc to spark an 11-2 run that made it 63-50 with nine minutes left.

The victory moved the Terrapins one step closer to becoming the first team since Purdue in 1998-99 to finish with an unblemished record in Big Ten play. Maryland's last loss was against Notre Dame on Dec. 3.

Malina Howard had 15 points, Laurin Mincy added 14 and reserve freshman A'Lexus Harrison grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds for the Terrapins.

“That was just a lot of fun. Just really enjoyed seeing the work that we displayed together," head coach Brenda Frese said. "Obviously the unselfish play to be able to beat a great team like Rutgers. Just the poise and the confidence and the toughness that you had to have in this game was tremendous.”

Betnijah Laney scored 22 and Kahleah Copper had 19 for the Rutgers (18-6, 9-4). The Scarlet Knights had won six straight since falling at home to the Terrapins on Jan. 15.

Rutgers made it interesting, but in the end simply could not compete with Maryland's size and depth. The Terrapins had four players score in double figures and outscored the Scarlet Knights 36-28 in the paint despite playing most of the first half without foul-plagued center Brionna Jones.

Walker-Kimbrough scored 15 points before halftime, and the Terrapins erased an early deficit to go up 37-29 at the break.

Jones picked up two fouls in the opening 2 1/2 minutes and quickly took a seat on the bench. As a result, Rutgers controlled the boards in taking a 17-12 lead.

The Terrapins responded with five straight baskets to move in front for good.

It was 24-19 when Mincy launched a 30-footer as the shot clock was about to expire. Not surprisingly, the shot found the bottom of the net.

Maryland then sandwiched six free throws around a layup by Ariel Butts to extend its run to 21-4 and put Rutgers in a 33-21 hole.

At 13-0 in Big Ten play, the Terps are off to their best start in conference play in school history. Their 16-game win streak ties their 16-0 mark to start the 2011-12 season, the second-longest win streak in school history.

The Terps are 57-29 (.663) all-time against their 2014-15 Big Ten opponents. Maryland has won 22 straight games against Big Ten teams, dating back to 2007. In the 13 years under Frese, the Terps are 25-4 (.862) against their new conference opponents. Frese is 37-10 (.787) all-time vs. Big Ten opponents, which includes her time at Minnesota (2001-02) and at Ball State (1999-01).

The Big Ten announced Monday that Maryland's March 1 game at Northwestern will be at 1 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.

Next, the Terrapins will play at Michigan State (11-13, 3-10) Monday at 7 p.m. ET. The Terps-Spartans game will be televised on ESPN as part of Big Monday and will also be shown online through WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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