COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Sophomore Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 17 of her career-high 25 points in the first half to lead No. 8 Maryland to an 85-67 victory over No. 25 South Florida Wednesday night at the XFINITY Center.
Sophomore Lexie Brown added 15 points and redshirt senior Laurin Mincy had 10 for the Terrapins (3-0). Junior Malina Howard had her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman Kristen Confroy also had 11 points off the bench for Maryland.
“A really solid win so early in the season, especially against a team that's going to be in the NCAA tournament,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “I think they obviously really challenged us the entire game. Shatori was sensational and the team collectively just did a really nice job trying to make [Courtney Williams] work."
"To be able to see Shatori's night, what she was able to do was really explosive and I think she really helped to set the tone from the tip. I thought our starters were really ready to play and really made a statement early. To be able to see how aggressive Malina was, we really needed that kind of rebounding and aggressiveness. It was just a tremendous way for us to start off in the first half and grow in the second half."
Courtney Williams scored 16 points for South Florida. Alisia Jenkins finished 12 with points and Laura Ferreira had 10 for the Bulls (2-1).
South Florida fell behind by double-digits early, thanks in large part to a 9-0 Terps run to start the game. The Bulls scored eight straight points to pull within 24-20 with 9:44 left in the first half. Maryland, however, stayed in control and consecutive shots by Walker-Kimbrough increased the margin to 43-30 with 4:05 remaining.
A pair of free throws by Brene Moseley in the closing seconds gave the Terps a 50-33 lead at the break. Maryland shot 18 of 31 (58.1 percent) in the opening half.
Maryland continued to pull away in the second half and layup by Walker-Kimbrough increased the lead to 60-38 with 16:49 left in the game. South Florida could not cut into the margin and 3-pointer by Confroy gave the Terps a 75-53 lead with 7:35 remaining.
The Terps were able to overcome the Bulls' zone defense with their hot shooting. Another jumper by Howard gave the Terps an 81-63 margin with 2:26 left.
Maryland also won last year's matchup 78-70, the only other meeting between the teams.
Maryland is ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Division I Coaches poll and No. 9 in the latest Associated Press preseason poll.
Next, the Terrapins will play at George Washington (1-1) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Smith Center in Washington D.C. The Terps-Colonials game will be televised on CSN Plus. Click here for your channel number for CSN Plus.
LiveStats will be available for the Terps-Colonials game. Live updates will also be posted to the Maryland Women's Basketball Twitter feed, so "Follow" to get updates sent straight to you.
After the Terps’ game at George Washington, Maryland will return home to host Loyola Monday at 7 p.m. at XFINITY Center for Dollar Night. Hot dogs and small sodas will be available for purchase for only $1.
The Terps will host their annual Teddy Bear Toss Monday night. Fans are encouraged to bring a new teddy bear to toss onto the floor at halftime. Fans who register their teddy bears at the marketing table will have the chance to win prizes. Every teddy bear to hit the hardwood will be donated to College Park Youth & Family Services.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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