A minute and a half into Maryland women’s lacrosse’s matchup with James Madison on Sunday, attacker Kali Hartshorn gained possession at the top of the arc.

With 10 seconds left on the shot clock, Hartshorn flicked a pass inside to midfielder Erica Evans, who dodged two defenders and neatly finished Maryland’s first goal.

All afternoon, the Dukes prevented Maryland from using its usual fastbreak offense. And all afternoon, the Terps responded by patiently chewing up shot clock and scoring anyway.

Maryland still matched a season-high 18 goals in the win, moving the ball quickly and waiting for clear looks at net before shooting. The deliberate approach carried the Terps to an 18-5 victory over the reigning national champions.

“People were just cutting at the right time,” Hartshorn said, “and we were all capitalizing on those chances.”

[Read more: No. 2 Maryland women’s lacrosse cruises to 18-5 win over No. 6 James Madison]

James Madison employed a zone defense for the first 30 minutes, limiting space for Evans and fellow midfield playmaker Jen Giles at the top of the arc. But Maryland managed to adjust, slowing its pace to break through the defense — and doling out a season-high 10 assists in the process.

Following Evans’ opening goal, the Terps needed another three minutes to score their second, deviating from their quick offense. Midfielder Meghan Siverson drew a foul to earn a free-position try, settling the attack after two turnovers in a two-minute stretch.

From there, Maryland’s offense settled down. The team added a third when Hartshorn found Giles from another free position, taking advantage of set pieces to offset a zone defense.

“They played a zone for the first half,” coach Cathy Reese said, “and I thought our team did a great job of working around it.”

[Read more: Griffins lead No. 2 Maryland women’s lacrosse to 17-6 blowout win over Penn State]

The Terps kept the ball moving for the rest of the half. Only four of their nine first-half goals came unassisted. Hartshorn, usually more of a finisher, notched a career-high three assists after 17 minutes.

Since Hartshorn’s game-winner against Syracuse on March 9, Maryland has used more screen plays on free positions to open up clear chances. On Sunday, such plays worked three times in the first half alone.

“It depends on … what the positioning of your teammates is,” Reese said. “We did a nice job finding options off eight meters.”

The second half proved more difficult for the Terps. After sticking to a zone defense in the first period, James Madison often played man-to-man down the stretch.

Although Maryland has wreaked havoc against man defenses many times this season, the team suffered a 12-minute scoring drought to open the half. During the cold spell, the Terps shot only three times and turned the ball over twice.

When Maryland got back on the board, it was once again thanks to smart ball movement. Attacker Brindi Griffin found Siverson inside, and she finished from close range to secure a six-goal lead.

“Credit to our players for really being smart and working it around and being patient until we got the right look,” Reese said.

Siverson’s goal opened the floodgates. The Terps scored eight more in the last 18 minutes, four of which were off assists. After Giles scored her fourth of the day with 12:47 remaining, Reese started to rotate bench players, who turned a comfortable victory into an onslaught.

“It’s awesome to see that the consistency is staying true throughout the team,” defender Julia Braig said.

Maryland finished the day well above its season average of 6.2 assists. It also shot just under 53 percent, its third-best effort this year.

So despite facing a zone defense in the first half and slowing their offense down to find break points, the Terps proved they can score in a multitude of ways.

“We just put up 18 goals against the defending national champion on their home field,” Reese said. “That’s pretty good offensive production.”