COLLEGE PARK — Kaila Charles scored 23 points and sparked a fourth-quarter surge that carried No. 7 Maryland past Georgia Tech 67-54 Thursday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
After the Terrapins let a 20-point halftime lead dwindle to 47-46 with 9 minutes left, Charles rattled off 11 straight points to blunt the comeback.
Freshman Taylor Mikesell scored 20 for Maryland (7-0) and Stephanie Jones added 11.
Charles began her personal 11-0 run with a three-point play and followed with a jump shot. The junior guard then made two free throws, a runner in the lane and two more foul shots for a 58-46 lead with 5:53 remaining.
Coming off a narrow win over Georgia in Puerto Rico, Maryland never trailed in the first meeting between the schools since 2014. The Terrapins lead the series 50-18 and have won seven straight.
Kierra Fletcher scored 14 for the Yellow Jackets (5-2) and Elizabeth Balogun had 13. Francesca Pan, who came in averaging 16.7 points per game, went 1 for 7 from the floor in the first half and finished with nine points.
Maryland led 44-25 in the third quarter before the Yellow Jackets closed the period with a 19-3 run to get back into it.
Georgia Tech scored 26 points in the quarter after scoring only 18 in the entire first half. The Terrapins, conversely, went 3 for 13 in the period and put up just nine points.
Led by Charles, Maryland returned to form over the final nine minutes.
Early on, the game had the makings of a rout. Georgia Tech missed nine of its first 10 shots and was outrebounded 15-6 in falling behind 18-6 after the first quarter.
A 3-pointer by Mikesell and a jumper by Charles upped the margin to 17 points, and Yellow Jackets coach McChelle Joseph finally called a timeout after an uncontested layup by Jones made it 25-8.
BIG PICTURE
Georgia Tech: If the Yellow Jackets play as they did in the third quarter, they could make some noise in the ACC.
Maryland: The Terrapins looked great in the first half, and they weathered a strong comeback. That bodes well for the future, although coach Brenda Frese might be concerned over that third-quarter collapse.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech hosts Georgia State on Sunday.
Maryland hosts Maryland-Baltimore County on Sunday.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.