Maryland
23-2, 14-0B1G
Michigan State
12-14, 4-11B1G
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 33 | 42 | 75 |
| Michigan State | 26 | 43 | 69 |
#5 Maryland Marches Past Michigan State, 75-69
2/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Fueled by five players in double-digit scoring, the No. 5 Maryland women's basketball team moved past Michigan State, 75-69, at the Breslin Center Monday evening. The Terrapins extended their win streak to 17 games and remain unbeaten in Big Ten play.
Brionna Jones scored 17 points to lead the Terrapins while Laurin Mincy and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 15. Lexie Brown (14) and Tierney Pfirman (11) also scored in double figures for the Terps.
“I'm proud of the fact that we found a way to hang in there,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “The credit goes to Michigan State. They were the more aggressive team; they played hard. They got on the floor more, they were scrappy. We had no answer for [Aerial] Powers; she is just a phenomenal player. We're fortunate to be able to get out of here with a win, but I thought we kept our poise through a lot of different moments.”
Maryland (23-2, 14-0 B1G) and Michigan State (12-14, 4-11) spent the first half closely matched. The Terps led for the first 12 minutes before an 8-0 run gave the Spartans a 21-20 advantage. Maryland quickly took the lead back, and used an 11-3 run to take a 33-26 score into halftime. Brown tallied 12 of her points in the first half.
After the break, Michigan State pulled within one point of Maryland before two free throws from Walker-Kimbrough helped keep the Terrapins' lead. A Spartan 3-pointer tied the game at 42 with 15:33 remaining for the first of four ties in the half.
Free throws from Pfirman helped spark an 8-0 Maryland run to take a 57-50 lead. The Terrapins made eight free throws in the last 3:24 to keep the lead and take the game, 75-69.
Jones finished the game with 11 rebounds while Brown had eight assists. Maryland shot 46.4 percent from the field, including 52 percent in the second half.
The Terps have won 17 straight games since the beginning of December. Maryland won a school-record 24-straight games from the end of the 2005-06 season through the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
The Terps are 58-29 (.667) all-time against their 2014-15 Big Ten opponents. Maryland has won 23 straight games against Big Ten teams, dating back to 2007. In the 13 years under Frese, the Terps are 26-4 (.867) against their new conference opponents. Frese is 38-10 (.792) all-time vs. Big Ten opponents, which includes her time at Minnesota (2001-02) and at Ball State (1999-01).
Next, the Terrapins will travel to Wisconsin (8-16, 4-10) Thursday for a 9 p.m. ET matchup that will be televised around the world on the Big Ten Network, BTN2Go.com and the BTN2Go app.
Live stats will be available and live updates will be available on the Maryland Women's Basketball Twitter feed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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