No. 8 Maryland beats No. 24 Minnesota 99-92, holding off a huge rally at the end
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Shyanne Sellers scored 27 points, and No. 8 Maryland gave No. 24 Minnesota an unpleasant welcome back to the Top 25, beating the Golden Gophers 99-92 on Tuesday night.
The Terrapins (16-1, 6-1 Big Ten) led by 20 before allowing a late 16-0 run by the Golden Gophers (16-2, 4-2. Maryland’s Kaylene Smikle put a stop to that with a pair of free throws with 29.7 seconds remaining, but Annika Stewart’s 3-pointer for Minnesota made it 95-92 with 20 seconds left.
Smikle made two more free throws, and Minnesota was unable to answer.
Amaya Battle had 19 points to lead Minnesota.
The Golden Gophers were ranked this week for the first time since late 2019, but they immediately had to play a tough road game at Maryland and had their six-game winning streak snapped. The Terrapins led 42-37 at halftime and pushed the lead to double digits in the third quarter.
Maryland lost guard Bri McDaniel to a knee injury in the first quarter.
Takeaways
Minnesota: Only two teams all season had scored 60 points against Minnesota, but the Terps had 73 by the end of the third quarter. The Gophers showed tenacity rallying at the end.
Maryland: The Terps shot beautifully in the second half — 66% from the field and 7 of 11 from 3-point range — but seven fourth-quarter turnovers helped keep it close.
Key moment
The Terps went on a 16-4 run in the third to push their lead to 14. Allie Kubek’s 3-pointer made it 60-46.
Key stat
Maryland made all 21 of its free throw attempts.
Up next
This was the start of four straight games for Maryland against ranked teams. The Terps play No. 7 Texas in Newark, New Jersey on Monday.
Minnesota is at Northwestern on Sunday.
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