2nd - 5:25
No. 8 Maryland women rout Nebraska 89-50
Jan 8, 2016 - 2:58 AM COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) After enduring one of the most challenging stretches of the season, Maryland coach Brenda Frese was proud that her team responded with its ''most complete game.''Malina Howard scored 15 points and No. 8 Maryland routed Nebraska 89-50 on Thursday night.
Maryland rebounded from losses to No. 1 UConn and No. 5 Ohio State last week. The setback to the Buckeyes snapped the Terrapins' 31-game winning streak against Big Ten foes dating to 2007.
''We were ready to go from the tip,'' Frese said. ''I thought it showed great character. We had a lot of fun. You could see that. We got a lot better tonight.''
Brene Moseley added 14 points, and Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough each had 11 for Maryland (13-2, 2-1). Tierney Pfirman was 5 of 7 from the field and finished with 10 points for the Terrapins.
Allie Havers, Jasmine Cincore and Maddie Simon each had nine points for Nebraska (9-5, 0-3). The Cornhuskers were 16 of 53 (30.2 percent) from the field.
Pfirman's jumper capped a 10-0 run and Maryland led 24-12 with 7:30 left in the second quarter. Nebraska made just five of its opening 23 shots and had no answer for Maryland's inside game.
Back-to-back layups and a 3-pointer by Walker-Kimbrough extended the lead to 46-21 at the break.
Maryland scored eight points off 12 turnovers in the opening half.
''Our transition was really good,'' Moseley said. ''I think our energy came off that. We were knocking down shots.''
The Terrapins continued to pull away in the third quarter. A layup by Moseley and short jumper by Pfirman provided a 62-29 lead with 4:19 remaining. The Cornhuskers were never effective getting into their offense with Maryland's constant pressure and made several errant passes.
''I think Maryland is very underrated in terms of execution,'' Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. ''They're just very well-coached and they are deep. They do a very good job of taking advantage of any errors that you make. We are a very young team that makes a lot of errors.''
Every player for Maryland got in the game and a layup by Kiara Leslie gave the Terps an 82-40 lead with 6:59 left in the fourth quarter. Maryland outscored Nebraska 46-16 inside the paint and had 25 assists, the second most this season.
''We came out with a chip on our shoulder,'' Howard said. ''We just wanted to get back out on the court and play against competition to show what Maryland basketball really is. We wanted to get back to who we really are.''
TIP-INS
Nebraska: Guard Rachel Theriot ranks eighth nationally with 7.0 assists per game. She finished with just two against Maryland. ... All five of Nebraska's losses this season have come against ranked teams.
Maryland: The Terps entered the game ranked third nationally with 87.1 points per game. ... Maryland improved to 5-0 against Nebraska, beating the Cornhuskers three times in the past two seasons.
NO ANSWER FOR JONES
Jones was a tough matchup for Nebraska because of her size (6-foot-3) and her ability to drive to the basket. She finished 11 points and nine rebounds. Jones, who leads the nation in field-goal percentage at 71 percent, went 5 of 9 from the field.
EASING BACK
Nebraska freshman forward Rachel Blackburn came off the bench for the second straight game. She returned to the lineup Sunday against Northwestern after missing the previous three games with an illness. Blackburn played 14 minutes against the Terps and had 2 points.
UP NEXT
Nebraska hosts Illinois on Sunday.
Maryland hits the road against Iowa on Sunday.
- NEBRASKA: 10
MARYLAND: 20
End of 1st
Jan 7 7:21 PM - NEBRASKA: 2
MARYLAND: 6
1st Quarter - 5:57
Jan 7 7:09 PM
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