Minnesota (2-7, 1-6 Big Ten) hung tight with No. 9 Maryland for the first 20 minutes, but the Terrapins (10-1, 6-0 B1G) were too much in the second half and pulled away for a 90-73 victory Thursday night at Williams Arena.
Sophomore Jasmine Powell matched season highs for points (22), assists (8) and rebounds (7) as she nearly had the seventh triple-double in program history. She also equaled a career high with four made 3-pointers.
Also in double figures were fellow sophomores Sara Scalia and Klarke Sconiers. Scalia scored 14, while Sconiers tallied 13 points and seven rebounds, one off a career high in each category.
Freshman Katie Borowicz, playing in her second career game, scored eight points in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers.
Playing their highest-ranked opponent of the season, the Gophers led Maryland 13-10 in the first quarter with Powell scoring eight of those points. The Terrapins closed out the frame with a 15-4 spurt, though to lead 25-17 after 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Gophers outscored the Terrapins, 26-25. Maryland led by nine at 28-19 but Powell and Scalia hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to trim the lead to three. Minnesota stayed within five points at 38-33 with 4:29 to go in the first half after another 3-pointer from Powell before the Terps extended the lead back to 11 two minutes later.
Minnesota had one more run in it, though, and chipped away to get within five once again at 48-43 with 24 seconds left after a pair of free throws from Sconiers.
Maryland led 50-43 at halftime but pulled away in the third quarter, opening the second stanza on a 10-2 run. The Terrapins would outscore Minnesota, 26-14, in the third quarter and lead 76-57 going into the third. Maryland led by as many as 27 in the fourth quarter, though Minnesota scored 10 of the final 12 points to finish at a 17-point margin.
The Terrapins were led by three players with at least 20 points in Diamond Miller (23), Chloe Bibby (22) and Katie Benzan (20).
Minnesota is back on the road for its next two contests, starting Tuesday at Nebraska. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)