UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sarah Te-Biasu scored 20 points, Kaylene Smikle added 17 and No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball held off Penn State’s second-half rally to earn an 82-73 victory Wednesday night.
Maryland (17-4, 7-3 Big Ten Conference) entered on a three-game losing streak — all to top-15 teams.
Maryland scored the opening eight points of the game and led the rest of the way. The Terps added a 13-2 run later in the first quarter to take a double-digit lead they held until Penn State started the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run to get within 62-57.
Penn State, which trailed by as many as 21 points early in the second half, got within 66-64 with 5:06 remaining in the fourth. Gabby Elliott led the way for the Nittany Lions, scoring 19 of her 23 points in the quarter on 8-for-8 shooting.
Maryland regained control by making seven straight field goals, including three by Smikle, to take a 79-69 lead with 1:19 left.
Saylor Poffenbarger had 14 points and Shyanne Sellers returned after missing two games with a knee injury to score 10 for Maryland. The Terps turned it over 23 times, leading to 27 Penn State points.
Gracie Merkle led Penn State (10-12, 1-10) with 24 points. Elliott missed her first five shots of the game before finishing 9 of 16 from the field.
The Terps led 41-24 at halftime after making 61.5% of their shots. They finished the game shooting 65.3% from the field, a season high and their best showing in a Big Ten game since shooting 65.5% at Purdue on Feb. 2, 2016.
Te-Biasu was the driving force for Maryland as she recorded her 17th career 20-point game and her first as a Terp. The fifth-year transfer from VCU shot 7 of 10, including four 3-pointers, and added four assists and two steals. She stepped up as the primary ball handler as Sellers played limited minutes in her first game back from a knee injury suffered in a Jan. 20 loss to Texas.
Brenda Frese earned her 200th career win over a Big Ten opponent, and it was also Frese’s 599th overall victory as the Terps’ coach.
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Illinois at No. 14 Maryland
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Stream: Big Ten Plus