STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Led by six points (one goal, five assists) from
Brindi Griffin and five points (four goals, one assist) from
Grace Griffin, the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse used a dominant second half effort to take down No. 23 Penn State, 17-6.
After going down 3-1 early, Maryland outscored the Nittany Lions 16-3 the rest of the game to move to 9-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Big Ten. Maryland is now 5-0 on the season against top-25 opponents.
Both B. Griffin's six points and her five assists were a career-best. Junior
Lizzie Colson recorded a career-best five groundballs while junior
Kali Hartshorn led a sensational effort in the draw circle with a season-best 11 as she catapulted a 19-6 advantage for the Terps in the circle. In addition to Colson's five groundballs, she posted six draws and two caused turnovers.
G. Griffin led Maryland with four goals while Hartshorn and senior
Caroline Steele each tallied a hat-trick in the effort. Senior
Jen Giles recorded three points with two goals and an assist.
For the ninth time in nine games, senior
Megan Taylor had above a .500 save percentage, posting eight saves to only six goals allowed, a .571 clip. In the second half, Taylor only allowed two goals and notched six saves, a .750 save percentage.
Down 3-1, Maryland scored six of seven to end the first half, with G. Griffin netting two. Maryland went on a 10-1 run to begin the second half, hitting on all cylinders. Steele, Hartshorn and Giles all had two goals. Maryland only allowed nine shots on goal in the second half, forcing 17 Penn State turnovers and only allowing two through.
The Terps will play their second straight road game against a top-25 opponent, traveling to No. 7 James Madison on Sunday at 12:30 on NBC Sports Washington.
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