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Maryland 90, Nebraska 71

LINCOLN, Neb - Maryland's potent inside-outside combination of Alyssa Thomas and Laurin Mincy was too much for Nebraska to overcome.

Thomas, a junior forward, scored 25 points, and Mincy was 4-of-4 on three-pointers en route to 16 points, as No. 10 Maryland defeated No. 19 Nebraska 90-71 on Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at the Devaney Sports Center.

Senior forward Tianna Hawkins, who entered the game ranked second in the nation in field goal percentage at 71.1 percent, scored 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added 12 rebounds for Maryland (4-1).

The Terrapins, who returned four starters from last season's NCAA Elite Eight team that finished 31-5, shot 51.6 percent in the second half, when Maryland pulled away from a nine-point halftime lead.

Mincy's final three-pointer of the game came less than three minutes into the second half and gave Maryland a 51-39 lead.

Nebraska was within nine points with 14:50 remaining following Emily Cady's steal and layup and Hailie Sample's layup following another Cady steal.

But Thomas responded with a driving basket and completed a three-point play to push the lead to 60-46 with 13:20 remaining, The Terrapins led by double digits the rest of the way, with the margin stretching to as many as 22 points.

Senior guard Linsdey Moore led Nebraska (5-2) with 17 points, and junior forward Jordan Hooper added 15.

Nebraska hung with Maryland through an up-tempo first half but could do little offensively after halftime. The Huskers shot just 33.3 percent in the second half and committed 10 turnovers.

Maryland led 46-37 at halftime, thanks to a 19-6 run over the final 4:48 of the first half.

Nebraska had forged ahead 31-27 on three-pointers from Moore and Rachel Theriot on consecutive possessions, equaling the Huskers' biggest lead of the first half.

That's when Mincy went on a tear for Maryland. The 6-foot junior guard made two three-pointers, scored a layup off a turnover and assisted Chloe Pavlech on a three-pointer, as the Terrapins outscored Nebraska 14-2 to take a 41-33 lead with 2:25 remaining.

Hooper slowed that spurt with a basket underneath for Nebraska, but Thomas scored off an offensive rebound, and then hit one of two free throws on Maryland's next possession to stretch the lead to nine.

Moore scored for Nebraska, but Malina Howard stole a rebound from Theriot and scored on a putback to give the Terrapins a nine-point advantage at halftime.

Maryland, which entered the game with an astounding plus-28 rebounding margin on the season, outrebounded Nebraska 20-18 in the first half, with eight offensive rebounds leading to 14 second-chance points.

The Terrapins, behind 13 points apiece from Mincy and Thomas, shot 50 percent in the first half, including 5-of-9 on three-pointers.