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No. 5 Maryland Defeats No. 18 Rutgers 80-69

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Lexie Brown scored 19 points, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 17 and No. 5 Maryland remained unbeaten in the Big Ten with its 16th consecutive victory, 80-69 over No. 18 Rutgers on Tuesday night.

Maryland (22-2, 13-0) let a 12-point lead dwindle to 52-48 before Brown connected from beyond the arc to spark an 11-2 run that made it 63-50 with nine minutes left.

The victory moved the Terrapins one step closer to becoming the first team since Purdue in 1998-99 to finish with an unblemished record in Big Ten play. Maryland's last loss was against Notre Dame on Dec. 3.

Malina Howard had 15 points, Laurin Mincy added 14 and reserve freshman A'Lexus Harrison grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds for the Terrapins.

Betnijah Laney scored 22 and Kahleah Copper had 19 for the Rutgers (18-6, 9-4). The Scarlet Knights had won six straight since falling at home to the Terrapins on Jan. 15.

Rutgers made it interesting, but in the end simply could not compete with Maryland's size and depth. The Terrapins had four players score in double figures and outscored the Scarlet Knights 36-28 in the paint despite playing most of the first half without foul-plagued center Brionna Jones.

Walker-Kimbrough scored 15 points before halftime, and the Terrapins erased an early deficit to go up 37-29 at the break.

Jones picked up two fouls in the opening 2 1/2 minutes and quickly took a seat on the bench. As a result, Rutgers controlled the boards in taking a 17-12 lead.

The Terrapins responded with five straight baskets to move in front for good.

It was 24-19 when Mincy launched a 30-footer as the shot clock was about to expire. Not surprisingly, the shot found the bottom of the net.

Maryland then sandwiched six free throws around a layup by Ariel Butts to extend its run to 21-4 and put Rutgers in a 33-21 hole.

TIP INS

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights fell to 3-5 against Top 25 teams, including 0-2 vs. Maryland. ... Laney finished with six rebounds, ending her run of four straight double-doubles. ... Rutgers slipped to 10-2 on the road this season. The other loss was at Ohio State.

Maryland: The Terrapins improved to 186-32 at home in 13 seasons under coach Brenda Frese. ... Maryland had seven steals, just under its average of 9.4 per game.

UP NEXT

Rutgers hosts Purdue at noon on Saturday.

Maryland travels to Michigan State on Monday, Feb. 16.

(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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