EVANSTON, Ill. – Sophomore Kaila Charles reached double-digit scoring for the 17th time this season as the No. 14 Maryland women's basketball team (18-3, 7-1 Big Ten) outlasted Northwestern (9-13, 2-6), 68-65, Thursday evening.

Charles scored 17 to lead the Terps and shot 78 percent while junior Eleanna Christinaki pitched in 15 points. Junior Brianna Fraser added 13 points. 

Charles scored 11 in the first quarter as the Terrapins shot 67 percent from the field and led 26-23. Maryland ended the second quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 41-33 lead into halftime. 

The Wildcats worked back to tie early in the fourth quarter, 52-52. A run of free throws helped Maryland retake the lead, 54-52. Fraser scored nine in the fourth to help the Terps hold on for the win.

The Terps scored 22 points off turnovers and notched 20 bench points.

Maryland is ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press poll and No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches poll.

Maryland lost second leading scorer Blair Watson for the season with a torn right ACL suffered Jan. 10 in practice. Watson is the Terps' second-leading scorer with 13.8 points through 17 games this season. She is the Big Ten's most improved scorer and ranked third in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.441).

Next, Maryland will return home to host Rutgers (17-5, 5-3) Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. at the XFINITY Center in the Terrapins' annual Play4Kay Pink Game. The Terps will sport pink and fans are encouraged to do the same in support of breast cancer awareness.  For tickets, call the Terrapin Ticket Office at 1-800-IM-A-TERP or click here.

The Terps-Scarlet Knights game will be streamed live online through BTN2Go.com and the BTN2Go app. Fans can watch using their BTN Plus subscriptions. Fans outside the U.S. can watch here. Live stats will be available and live updates will be posted to the Terrapins' Twitter feed at @umdwbb. 

-Terps-