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CLEMSON — Lynetta Kizer scored 18 points and No. 8 Maryland had six players in double-figure to win their 10th straight game over Clemson, 91-61, on Thursday night.
The Terrapins (21-3, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), the ACC's highest scoring team, won their third third in a row this season and ran all over the Tigers (6-16, 2-9) at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Alicia DeVaughn scored 15, Alyssa Thomas and Tianna Hawkins had 14 each, Laurin Mincy 13 and Brene Moseley 10 as Maryland tied its highest ACC point total this season. The Terrapins also showed off some defense, forcing 25 turnovers off 14 steals.
Nikki Dixon had 17 points to lead the Tigers, but was just 4 of 14 from the field against Maryland's high-pressure defense.
Maryland kept within sight of ACC leaders in No. 5 Duke (11-0 in the league) and Miami (10-0). The Terrapins have a golden opportunity to close the gap in the next two weeks, facing Miami at home on Sunday and Duke at home a week later.
Maryland came in to this one off a milestone victory, a 64-56 win at Georgia Tech that gave the program 20 wins for the eighth consecutive season. And the Terrapins didn't let up at Clemson. Maryland forced turnovers on five straight Tigers possessions to run out to a 16-4 lead less than seven minutes in. Clemson could not hold on against the ACC's highest scoring team.
Thomas had 11 points in the opening half while Lynette Kizer had eight consecutive points down the stretech as Maryland took a 20-point lead in the final minutes of the opening half.
The Terrapins did just about everything right the first 20 minutes. They shot 50 percent (15 of 30) and made all but one of their 14 foul shots. They held Clemson to 2 of 13 shooting from behind the arc and forced 16 turnovers in the period.
Clemson's leading scorer, Dixon, hit just two of seven shots.
Maryland kept up the pressure throughout the second half. When Clemson cut the lead to 65-47 with 9:18 to go, the Terrapins answered with a 31-7 charge over the next six minutes. It was Maryland's fourth ACC win of 21 points or more.
Chancie Dunn scored 12 points and Kelly Gramlich had 10 for the Tigers.
Clemson coach Itoro Coleman might've wanted to yell more. But the second year coach was in her third trimester carrying her and husband Harold Coleman's fourth child. Coleman, a former Clemson basketball standout, missed the start of her debut season because she gave birth to daughter Jasmine in November 2010.
The game served as a remembrance of the late Kay Yow with both teams wearing pink in their uniforms — Clemson had pink shorts while the Terrapins had pink socks — to honor the North Carolina State coach who died of breast cancer in 2009.
