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No. 5 Maryland 69, No. 25 Northwestern 48 Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Ill. Box Score | Box Score 
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 25 Northwestern refused to be intimidated by the nation's fifth-ranked team Sunday, but in the end, the Wildcats' trouble shooting the ball helped No. 5 Maryland close the regular season with a 69-48 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Northwestern, which received its first Associated Press top-25 ranking since 1996 on Monday, finished the regular season with 22 wins, the most since the 1995-96 season. The 'Cats finished 12-6 in the Big Ten, winning more conference games than any NU squad since the 1992-93 group than posted 13 wins.
With a spirited crowd urging them on, the Wildcats came out with great enthusiasm on Senior Day. Junior Maggie Lyon buried a 3-pointer from way downtown to open the scoring. Maryland went on a 10-2 run before a jumper from Lyon and a layup from senior Karly Roser made it a one-point game with 14:28 to go.
A few minutes later, the Terrapins were ahead 16-9, but a 10-3 surge by Chicago's Big Ten Team over the span of 3:46 that was punctuated by a layup from Nia Coffey off a feed from Roser with 8:23 remaining in the half. The 2014-15 Big Ten regular season champions went up by six before Lyon scored five unanswered points to make it a one-point game with 3:24 to go.
The Wilmette, Ill., native's second consecutive basket made it 27-26, Maryland, but Northwestern was held off the scoreboard for the final three-plus minutes of the half and the Terps took a 32-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The 'Cats shot only 35.5 percent in the first half with 11 field goals, but Northwestern hung around because its stingy defense led to Maryland coughing the ball up 10 times in the first 10 minutes. NU only had six turnovers in the first 20 minutes and it finished the day with nine turnovers, two shy of a season-low, against the nation's fifth-ranked team.
Maryland, which shot 46.4 percent (13-of-28) in the first half, brought its shooting touch back to the court in the second half. The Wildcats kept the Terrapins within striking distance for the first five minutes of the period, but Maryland used a 17-7 run over the next six or so to take a 53-37 lead that they would not relinquish.
The visiting team scored 14 points in the paint in the second half and 12 second-chance points. Northwestern picked up 11 offensive rebounds in the second half alone, but the shots simply weren't falling. The Wildcats shot only 22.6 percent in the final 20 minutes with only two players, Lauren Douglas (3) and Alex Cohen (2), making multiple field goals in the half.
Coffey led three 'Cats in double figures Sunday with 14 points, while adding five rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks. Douglas poured in 11 in 17 minutes of action off the bench, while Lyon finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals against Maryland.
Roser matched Lyon with a team-high eight rebounds in her final Welsh-Ryan Arena, including six on the offensive end. Since entering the starting lineup on Feb. 8, the Hamilton, Ontario, native is averaging a team-high 2.9 offensive rebounds per game. Cohen finished with five points, three rebounds and a steal in her final regular season home game.
Northwestern will receive a coveted double bye and it will be seeded fourth in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. NU will begin play at approximately 2 p.m. on Friday, March 7 in Game 8 against either the No. 5, No. 12 or No. 13 seed. The Wildcat could finish as high as tied for third place at the end of the day Sunday, but the tiebreaker would favor Ohio State in that scenario. The complete bracket will be released Sunday evening.
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