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The fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins had little trouble in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday afternoon, putting away the No. 13 Army Black Knights in College Park. Alyssa Thomas broke Juan Dixon's all-time scoring record and recorded yet another double-double, as the Terps won 90-52.
Army stuck around early, but a late first half run by the Terps simply put their opponents away, putting the game well out of reach heading into the break.
The Terps jumped out to an early lead, starting out with a signature offensive rebound and putback by Alyssa Thomas. Maryland led 8-5 at the first media timeout, but Army was able to cut that to 12-10 by the next break.
The Terps were able to extend their lead to 15-12 with 10 minutes to play, but Army showed that continual fight, hitting a three-pointer to tie it up in College Park. After an empty Maryland possession, Army responded with another three-pointer to make it 18-15 Black Knights, forcing a Maryland timeout.
Maryland was able to take that lead back just two minutes later on Laurin Mincy's three-pointer, making it 20-18, and Tierney Pfirman's transition jumper on the next Terrapin possession extended that lead.
Thomas broke Juan Dixon's all-time program scoring record in the midst of Maryland's 29-2 run to end the half, hitting a free throw to take the career mark. Maryland's lead grew to 44-20 at halftime as a result of the run, putting the game clearly out of hand after struggling out of the gate.
The Terps were helped by 11 Army turnovers in the first half, but Maryland's size was the real difference. The Terrapins recorded as many offensive rebounds in the first half as the Black Knights had total rebounds -- 12 -- while Alyssa Thomas recorded a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds) in the period.
The second half went much in the same way as the end of the first -- Maryland outplayed Army in just about every conceivable way, using their physical advantage to simply outmuscle the Black Knights at every turn.
Thomas finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds (eight offensive) and four assists, while Lexie Brown led the way with 21 points and five assists. Katie Rutan and Tierney Pfirman both scored double-digits in the game, and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough ended up with eight points and three steals.
The Terrapins will face the winner of Texas vs. Pennsylvania in the next round.