During Maryland women’s lacrosse’s 16-1 shellacking of Ohio State last weekend, Brindi and Grace Griffin were just about the only members of the Terps’ attack that didn’t light up a scoresheet, combining for one goal and one assist.
On Thursday, Maryland again cruised to a big win over a Big Ten opponent, but this time, the Griffin duo powered the offense. And though the scorelines ended similarly lopsided, the team’s second conference game felt a lot tighter than its opener.
The Terps didn’t lead until more than 20 minutes into their eventual 17-6 blowout win over Penn State, but with Grace Griffin scoring four goals and adding one assist, Brindi Griffin scoring once and having five assists, and at least one Griffin having a hand in each of the team’s seven first-half goals, coach Cathy Reese’s squad cruised to another big win.
The Griffins didn’t begin their takeover until after the Nittany Lions took a 2-0 lead in the opening minutes, causing Reese to take a timeout.
Shortly after that stoppage, Brindi Griffin passed from behind the net to Grace Griffin, who immediately flicked the ball in from point-blank range to get the Terps on the board.
The Nittany Lions didn’t go quietly, though, answering the Griffin-to-Griffin connection with a goal to go up 3-1 and, later, responding to two Maryland goals by retaking a 4-3 lead with about 11 minutes left before halftime.
From there, however, Maryland dominated.
Brindi Griffin used a half-spin to get past her defender and bounce home a game-tying goal with 8:37 left, the start of a 4-0 Maryland run in under three minutes that suddenly gave the Terps a 7-4 lead.
They never looked back. Maryland won the second half, 10-2, and the Nittany Lions couldn’t pull closer than three goals in the second period.
The Terps had outshot Penn State, 22-9, before halftime, and it had a nearly identical 21-9 advantage in the final 30 minutes. After goalkeeper Megan Taylor stopped just two of the Nittany Lions’ six shots on goal in the first half, she saved six of eight after halftime, allowing the offense to build its lead.
Attackers Kali Hartshorn and Caroline Steele scored two second-half goals to complete their hat tricks, and midfielder Jen Giles each added two scores and an assist, as seven Terps finished the afternoon with multiple points.
Penn State couldn’t defend without fouling, leading to the Terps’ four free position goals in the middle stages of the second half that established a 15-5 lead with 12:20 remaining.
Maryland stepped off the gas after that point, with the work of the Griffins and a second-half resurgence from Taylor having sewn up a second consecutive blowout win, albeit a more uneven one.
