An 11-0 Maryland run midway through the second half gave the Terrapins enough of a cushion to hold off Ohio State down the stretch for an 87-78 victory Monday night at the XFINITY Center.
The Buckeyes fall for the first time in their last five games and are now 8-5 on the season and 0-1 in B1G action. Maryland, which came into the game ranked No. 9 in the country, improves to 10-2 overall and wins its first Big Ten contest.
Junior Ameryst Alston led the Buckeyes with 22 points while Kelsey Mitchell chipped-in with 19 points. Redshirt-sophomore Lisa Blair scored just six points but grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.
Five Terrapins scored in double-figures led by a game-high 23 points from Lexi Brown.
Maryland dominated inside, winning the battle on the glass 59-37 and had 23 second-chance points off 23 offensive rebounds. The Terrapins also had 46 points in the paint compared to just 22 for the Buckeyes.
Leading by just two midway through the second half, the Terrapins took advantage of some missed shots by the Buckeyes and went on an 11-0 run to take control of the game. Ohio State fought back thanks to a couple of three-pointers by Shayla Cooper and Cait Craft but free throws down the stretch by the Terrapins were enough to hold off the Buckeyes.
It wasn’t the prettiest of first halves for the Buckeyes as they shot just 39 percent and were handled on the glass 33-17. A 7-0 run gave OSU an early 7-4 lead but Maryland answered and led for the majority of the half. The lead was as many as seven at 33-26 and that’s when Asia Doss hit her first three to spark an 11-4 Buckeye run that saw OSU even the score at 37-37.
Maryland scored six-straight points in the final 1:30 but Cait Craft answered with a three-pointer with 20 seconds left and the teams headed to the locker room with the Terps in front 43-40.
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