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No. 8 Maryland Snaps Skid, Beats Syracuse 89-64

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Freshman guard Lexie Brown scored a season-high 31 points, going 7 of 8 from beyond the arc, and No. 8 Maryland beat Syracuse 89-64 on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Orange (16-6, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) dropped to 0-4 all-time against Maryland (17-4, 5-3), including a 77-62 loss two weeks ago.

The Terrapins were coming off two setbacks in a four-day span, an 87-83 home loss to No. 2 Notre Dame on Monday night and a 72-63 defeat at No. 18 North Carolina State on Thursday night.

A day after the Orange men edged No. 17 Duke 91-89 in overtime to put themselves in position to move to No. 1 in the nation, the women's team had a chance to make it back into the rankings but faltered mightily after posting a signature win.

Syracuse had won four straight and was seeking its 100th victory in the Carrier Dome, but the Orange were undone by three big Maryland runs in the first 25 minutes.

Alyssa Thomas had a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. She tied Kristi Toliver for No. 3 all-time at Maryland with 2,078 points and Tianna Hawkins for third with 1,075 rebounds.

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 17 points and seven boards for Maryland, which beat the Orange 37-27 on the glass and outscored them 40-28 in the paint.

Brown was 11 of 13 from the field and had seven assists with five turnovers and three steals. Maryland shot 61.4 percent (35 of 57), was 10 of 17 on 3-pointers, and had 25 assists.

Brittney Sykes led Syracuse with 22 points and Brianna Butler had nine on 4-of-20 shooting.

After taking an 8-4 lead on Sykes' three-point play, the Orange missed seven shots and committed four turnovers as Maryland went on a 20-5 run to take a 24-13 lead midway through the opening half.

The Terps repeatedly passed the ball over the Orange's 2-3 zone, converting seven times inside. Walker-Kimbrough had three of the baskets inside before draining a 3 that gave Maryland a 19-11 lead.

Butler halted the Maryland rush, hitting a pullup jumper along the baseline and a 3-pointer. A layup by Sykes closed the gap to 26-20 with 6:32 to go, but the Terps zeroed in from the perimeter, hitting four 3s in a 20-9 run to take a 46-29 lead into the locker room. Brown hit a 3 from long range and finished the spurt with a jumper in transition after a Syracuse turnover.

Maryland shot 55.9 percent (19 of 34) in the opening half and was 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. The Terps also outscored the Orange 10-0 on second-chance points, compliments of a 21-13 edge on the glass, and netted 15 points off 10 Syracuse turnovers.

Maryland broke the game open early in the second, hitting eight straight shots in a 20-6 spurt to take a 31-point lead less than 5 minutes in. Brown hit a 3 to start it, Brionna Jones scored seven points inside, and Brown finished it with a 3-pointer from the right corner and a fast-break layup with 15:45 left.

Syracuse, which was ranked for five straight weeks earlier in the season and reached a program high of 20th in late December, was on the cusp of returning to the Top 25 after a huge 78-73 win at No. 6 North Carolina on Thursday night. Syracuse, just 2-4 on the road entering the game, had never won a road game against an opponent with such a lofty ranking.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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