Alyssa Thomas scored 22 of her 24 points in the second half and added a career-high 17 rebounds, and No. 6 Maryland beat host North Carolina State, 65-50, on Sunday in their final game before the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Thomas finished two points shy of her scoring high and added a career-high four blocks to help the Terps (25-4, 12-4ACC) win their fourth straight game and seventh out of eight.
The Terps clinched the No. 3 seed in the ACC tournament, which begins Thursday in Greensboro, N.C., at 8p.m. On Friday, They will play the winner of Thursday's game between No. 6 seed Virginia and No. 11 seed Boston College.
Laurin Mincy added 12 points for Maryland. The Terps never trailed and used a late 17-5 run to pull away and claim their seventh win in eight tries against the Wolfpack (16-14, 5-11).
The Terps, the league's best rebounding team, built a 55-36 advantage on the boards.
Thomas — who averages 16.7 points — was the only Maryland player to score during a 101/2-minute stretch of the second half, recording 16 consecutive points for her team.
N.C. State made it a three-point game three times in the second half, the last when Marissa Kastanek's drive across the lane pulled the Wolfpack within 46-43 with just under 10 minutes left.
But while N.C. State managed just two field goals the rest of the way, Thomas carried the Terps.
She knocked down a jumper through contact from Lakeesa Daniel with 8:57 left to spark a run of eight straight points during the decisive spurt. Kim Rodgers' 3 from the corner with 71/2 minutes to play stretched it back out to double figures at 54-43, and Mincy's free throw with 3:15 left made it 63-48.
No N.C. State player reached double figures, with leading scorer Kastanek — who averages 13 points — finishing with nine on 4-for-14 shooting from the field. Senior Bonae Holston, who averages 12.4 points, had six on 3-for-14 shooting in her final game at Reynolds Coliseum.
The Terps raced out to a 15-1 lead against a senior-day starting lineup that included three Wolfpack players who don't usually start.
Once most of the regulars checked in, N.C. State tightened things back up with a 17-3 run capped by Kastanek's 3-pointer that pulled the Wolfpack within 21-20 with 6:50 before the break.
| FG | FT | Reb | ||
| Maryland | M-A | M-A | O-T | Pts |
| Mincy | 4-11 | 3-4 | 1-4 | 12 |
| Barrett | 2-10 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 7 |
| DeVaughn | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 |
| Hawkins | 2-4 | 2-2 | 3-8 | 6 |
| Thomas | 8-18 | 8-10 | 7-17 | 24 |
| Moseley | 0-5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 |
| Kizer | 1-6 | 4-4 | 2-8 | 6 |
| Rodgers | 1-3 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 4 |
| Bays | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 2 |
| Totals | 21-61 | 20-24 | 19-55 | 65 |
Percentages: FG .344, FT .833. 3-point goals: 3-13, .231 (Barrett 1-3, Rodgers 1-3, Mincy 1-5, Moseley 0-2). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 10 (Thomas 4, Barrett 2, Bays 2, Mincy, Hawkins). Turnovers: 18 (Mincy 4, Hawkins 4, Thomas 2, DeVaughn 2, Kizer 2, Moseley, Rodgers, Barrett, Bays). Steals: 10 (Thomas 3, Moseley 2, Hawkins, Mincy, Kizer, Barrett, Bays). Technical fouls: None.
| FG | FT | Reb | ||
| N.C. State | M-A | M-A | O-T | Pts |
| Durham | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Bell | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Tasler | 1-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Woodard | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Holston | 3-14 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 6 |
| Goodwin-Coleman | 2-6 | 2-2 | 0-5 | 7 |
| Barrett | 0-5 | 5-8 | 1-3 | 5 |
| Donovan | 3-5 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 8 |
| Kastanek | 4-14 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 9 |
| Daniel | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 |
| Burke | 4-9 | 0-0 | 4-7 | 9 |
| Evans | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Totals | 18-64 | 10-15 | 14-36 | 50 |
Percentages: FG .281, FT .667. 3-point goals: 4-16, .250 (Goodwin-Coleman 1-3, Burke 1-3, Kastanek 1-4, Tasler 1-4, Donovan 0-2). Team rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 5 (Holston 2, Burke, Daniel, Bell). Turnovers: 14 (Holston 3, Kastanek 2, Burke 2, Goodwin-Coleman 2, Barrett, Donovan, Durham, Tasler, Daniel). Steals: 10 (Tasler 3, Donovan 2, Goodwin-Coleman, Barrett, Holston, Bell, Kastanek). Technical fouls: None.
| Maryland3035—65 |
| N.C. State2525—50 |
A—2,457. Officials—Bonita Spence, Joanne Aldrich, Dan Outlaw.