INDIANAPOLIS — Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 19 points and No. 5 Maryland beat No. 19 Michigan State, 60-44, on Sunday night for its second consecutive Big Ten tournament title.
The Terrapins (30-3) used an 11-0 run to take a 38-30 lead late in the third quarter, then opened the fourth with a 9-2 spurt to pull away. Maryland led by as many as 18 points late, and Brene Moseley and Brionna Jones each finished with 10 points.
Tori Jankoska led Michigan State (24-8) with 12 points. The Spartans made just two of 19 3-point attempts.
Michigan State led until the halfway point of the second quarter, when Maryland jumped ahead by two points on Chloe Pavlech’s 3-pointer. The Spartans answered quickly with a 7-0 run that put them in front, 26-21, forcing Maryland to call a timeout.
Michigan State went into halftime ahead, 26-24. Jankoska hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the half that would have given Michigan State a five-point lead, but she was called for traveling.
The back-and-forth scoring continued in the third. Maryland tied the score at 30-30 with about six minutes remaining in the period.
The Terrapins took advantage of a four-minute Michigan State scoring drought. Maryland’s 38-30 lead forced a Michigan State timeout, and after that, it appeared the Spartans had an answer when Aerial Powers made back-to-back jump shots to pull the Spartans within four.
Then came Maryland’s 9-2 run to start the fourth. That put the Terrapins up 13 points, and Michigan State never pulled back within single digits.
The Terrapins have won the Big Ten regular-season title and tournament in each of their first two seasons since leaving the ACC.
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