No. 7 Maryland thrashes Purdue to remain atop Big Ten
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) Stephanie Jones scored 18 points, Shakira Austin had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 7 Maryland stayed atop the Big Ten by pounding Purdue 88-45 Tuesday night for its 13th consecutive victory.
The Terrapins (24-4, 15-2) are tied in first place with Northwestern, which kept pace with a victory at Ohio State. The co-leaders have one game left: Maryland is at Minnesota and Northwestern hosts Illinois.
If the Wildcats and Terps finish deadlocked, they share the title but Maryland gets the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament via a tiebreaker. Northwestern and the Terrapins split the season series, so the next criteria is head-to-head record against third-place Iowa (Maryland went 1-1, Northwestern 0-1).
Kaila Charles had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Terrapins, who haven't lost since Jan. 9 at Iowa. Their last five victories have come by an average of 34.4 points.
Maryland dominated the inside against the Boilermakers, scoring 60 points in the paint and shooting a blistering 49.4% percent from the floor. The Terps also finished with a 49-34 rebounding advantage.
Ae'Rianna Harris had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Purdue (17-12, 8-9). The Boilermakers shot 31% and committed 24 turnovers.
Maryland trailed 12-9 before closing the first quarter with a 10-0 run. It was 19-14 before Jones made three straight layups to up the margin to double-digits.
Purdue committed 15 turnovers and went 9 for 28 from the floor in the first half, which ended with the Terps holding a comfortable 35-22 lead.
Jones had 12 points at halftime on 6-for-8 shooting.
Austin made three baskets, Charles hit a couple of jumpers and Taylor Mikesell drilled a 3-pointer to fuel a 15-3 run at the start of the third quarter that made it 50-25.
Maryland outscored the Boilermakers 28-14 in the period for a 63-36 lead.
NEARING 2,000
Charles needs 52 points to become the sixth player in Maryland history to score 2,000. She was one of four seniors honored before her final regular season home game, along with Jones, Blair Watson and Sara Vujacic.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
Harris became the 16th player in the history of the Purdue women's program to reach the 1,500-point mark. Dominique Oden is already there, so the 2020 senior class is the second in Purdue history to have a pair of players with 1,500 career points.
UP NEXT
Purdue concludes its regular season at home Saturday against Ohio State.
Maryland brings an 8-3 road record into the finale at Minnesota.
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