No. 5 Maryland beats Penn State for 19th win in row

By David Ginsburg - Associated Press - Monday, February 23, 2015

COLLEGE PARK — Brionna Jones scored 11 of her 17 points in the decisive first half, and No. 5 Maryland coasted past Penn State 65-34 to move one notch closer to completing a perfect Big Ten regular season.

It was the 19th straight victory for the Terrapins, their longest winning streak since a 21-game run in 1988-89.

After the game, Maryland was presented a trophy for winning the Big Ten regular-season title. The Terrapins (25-2, 16-0) clinched first place Saturday night when Ohio State beat Iowa.

That doesn’t mean the Terps intend to coast to the finish in their inaugural Big Ten season. With victories over visiting Indiana on Thursday and at Northwestern on Sunday, Maryland will become only the third Big Ten women’s team to go unbeaten in conference play, joining Ohio State (1984-85) and Purdue in (1998-99).

Candice Agee led Penn State (6-21, 3-13) with 10 points and Lindsey Spann added eight, but missed 12 of her 16 shots.

The Lady Lions scored only 14 points in the first half on 25 percent shooting and lost for the sixth time in seven games - a skid that includes a 77-62 defeat at home to Maryland earlier this month.

In this one, the Terrapins scored the game’s first 10 points and led by 21 at halftime.

Laurin Mincy and Lexie Brown hit 3-pointers during the opening 10-0 spurt, and Penn State put itself in an imposing hole by missing three shots and committing three turnovers during its first six possessions.

The Lady Lions needed more than seven minutes to make their first field goal, a layup by Agee that made it 12-4.

Minutes later, Kristen Confroy made a 3-pointer to spark a 10-2 spree that put the Terrapins up 23-8.

Penn State went 6 for 24 from the field in the first half and seven different players combined for 15 turnovers.

Maryland, on the other hand, got points from eight players in the first half. The Terrapins dominated the boards 25-15 and had 10 steals - five by Brown - before halftime.

The margin swelled to 31 points at 57-26 with six minutes remaining.