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CHARLOTTESVILLE — Tianna Hawkins scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and No. 8 Maryland took charge early in a 73-56 victory over Virginia on Thursday night.
Hawkins missed just once in 13 shot attempts as the Terrapins (22-4, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) rebounded from Sunday's 76-74 home loss to No. 6 Miami. Maryland led by six in that game with 6 minutes remaining, but allowed the Hurricanes to come back and sweep the season series.
The Terrapins didn't let that happen against Virginia (18-9, 6-7), which trailed 44-21 at halftime and never got closer than 11 after that.
Ariana Moorer led Virginia with 23 points and Ataira Franklin had 10.
The Cavaliers came into the game ranked 18th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 52.9 points per game, but nearly gave up that many by halftime.
The Terrapins built a 22-8 cushion and scored 30 of their first 32 points in the paint. They outrebounded the Cavs 29-10.
Hawkins had 15 points and 10 rebounds by the break, and Maryland's 15 second-chance points almost matched Virginia's total.
Alyssa Thomas added 16 points for Maryland, which scored 48 points in the paint. Virginia, by contrast, had just 20.
The Terrapins stretched their margin to 24 several times in the second half before Virginia rallied. A jumper by Franklin, two free throws by Moorer and a steal and layup by Moorer made it 57-46, inciting the crowd and prompting Maryland coach Brenda Frese to call timeout.
Hawkins steadied things with a jumper, and after Virginia missed, Alicia DeVaughn's putback rebuilt the lead to 61-46.
The Cavaliers lost 68-61 at College Park on Jan. 16, but quickly found themselves hoping just to get that close in the rematch.
After Chelsea Shine's 10-foot jumper opened the scoring, Maryland scored 22 of the next 28 points to take command.
Maryland finished with a 53-26 rebounding edge and got 22 offensive rebounds that it turned into 23 points.
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Follow Hank Kurz Jr. on Twitter at http://twitter.com/hankkurzjr
