published on July 13, 2024 in Informative Details

Lexie Brown leads Maryland to win in Big Ten tournament opener

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The last time Maryland's Lexie Brown played a game in the Chicago area, the sophomore point guard incurred early foul trouble, logged her fewest minutes in a Big Ten game and was unable to settle into an offensive flow during the regular season finale.

Five days later, in Friday's Big Ten tournament quarterfinal against Michigan State, Brown was the most polished player on both ends of the court in directing the fourth-ranked Terrapins to a 70-60 victory at Sears Centre Arena.

Brown finished with a season-high 27 points on 9-for-16 shooting and matched a career high with seven steals to push the Big Ten regular season champions into the semifinals against No. 4 seed Northwestern, a 62-57 winner over Rutgers. Her fifth game with at least 20 points also extended Maryland's winning streak to 22, a program record for single season.

“I just wanted to do whatever it takes to get us to a hot start,” Brown said. “It just happened to be me hitting shots. If it was me distributing more or locking down on defense, I’d have done that, but I was getting open looks, and I just shot them with confidence.”

The first-team all-Big Ten selection scored nine points in the previous game, Sunday's 69-48 win against Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., but Maryland had three players reach double figures in completing an undefeated Big Ten regular season.

On Friday, Brown was the only Maryland player to score in double digits. Sophomore center Brionna Jones had nine points, as did sophomore Shatori Walker-Kimbrough. The guard-forward added six rebounds and five assists before fouling out with 4 minutes 53 seconds left in the game.

By then, the Terrapins (28-2) were well on their way to a 27th consecutive win against a Big Ten opponent dating from 2007. Maryland's decisive 17-4 flurry began to unfold after the Spartans drew within 43-37 on sophomore forward Aerial Powers's three-point play with 13:53 to go.

Walker-Kimbrough got the Terrapins back on track by making 1 of 2 foul shots, Brown made two free throws and redshirt senior Laurin Mincy scored off an offensive rebound for a 48-37 lead. Michigan State (16-15) made a pair of free throws before Jones had two baskets around Brown’s fast-break layup. Reserve guard Brene Moseley and Brown then combined for six in a row, and Maryland was in command 60-41.

"I thought our start was really, really key," said Maryland Coach Brenda Frese, recently named Big Ten coach of the year in the school's first season in the conference following 37 in the ACC. "It was something that we really stressed. When you haven't played a game and you have that double bye, just coming out aggressive. Our strong was start was really impressive, probably one of our best 40-minute games defensively."

The Terrapins raced to a 21-6 advantage in the first half; Michigan State scored one field goal in the opening 10:38. That stretch included a 12-2 run in which Brown had nine points, and the lead lingered in double figures all but briefly the remainder of the game.

Maryland limited the Spartans to 32 percent shooting and forced 16 turnovers that led to 22 points. A 34-20 advantage in points in the paint came despite getting outrebounded offensively 14-10. Michigan State missed 19 of 24 three-point attempts, including going 3 for 15 in the second half, in its third loss to the Terrapins this season.

Powers, the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten, led the shorthanded Spartans with 26 points but missed 18 of 24 field goal attempts and committed six turnovers. Michigan State is without three regulars because of injuries.

“I give credit to Maryland,” Spartans Coach Suzy Merchant said. “I thought they did a really good job coming out of the gates in the beginning of the game, just really attacking us at both ends of the floor.”