TOWSON – For the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team, there was no denying that the magnitude of last night’s contest paled in comparison to the last time it strode into Unitas Stadium.

But for all the fond memories the familiar venue prompted for Terp attacker Sarah Mollison, who was a part of the team’s 13-11 national title over Northwestern here last May, it produced even stronger play.

Despite prolonged scoring droughts in both halves, Mollison netted a career-high 10 points as the No. 1 Terps continued their undefeated run on a chilly evening, topping a scrappy Towson side, 17-8.

It was not the sharpest effort this season for the Terps (11-0), who managed to win by a comfortable margin despite both offensive and defensive deficiencies.

“I thought we had some lapses defensively, and Towson capitalized from it,” coach Cathy Reese said. “And offensively, we had a big lull at the end of the half. I think we went about 16 minutes without scoring, which is a little uncharacteristic of us.”

The squad seemed to be in prime position to put the game out of reach when Mollison — competing in front of family who had traveled from Australia, including her mother and brother — pocketed her second goal to extend the Terps’ lead to 9-2 with 16:19 remaining in the first half.

The team, however, fell into an offensive slumber, partly due to a strong effort by Towson goalie Mary Teeters. It lasted until near the end of the half, when attacker Kristy Black broke free in front of the cage and scored with 25 seconds left before intermission. Mollison notched her fourth of five assists on the goal.

“I think it was a great game,” said attacker Karri Ellen Johnson, who tied Mollison with a team-high five goals. “I think we could have done a little bit better on offense, been a little bit smarter, and I think we could have respected our opponent a little bit more on defense.

“We kind of were lazy in and out of our game plan a little bit but brought it together at halftime and refocused.”

Midfielder Katie Schwarzmann added one of her three goals 13 seconds later, and Johnson ripped in two shots before 90 seconds had elapsed in the second half to give the Terps a commanding 13-4 advantage.

Towson (4-5) battled back with three unanswered goals as the Terps’ offense again failed to score for more than 15 minutes. But it was Schwarzmann who once more ended the skid, ripping a shot past Teeters with 13:06 to play.

A year after she allowed seven Tiger goals in little less than a half of action, goalkeeper Brittany Dipper ably absolved herself against her hosts last night. The junior set a strong tone early with three saves before either team scored and finished with six total.

Mollison’s five assists pushed her all-time total to 107, good for fifth place in program history. The Australia native earned praise from Reese who, after learning of her double-digit point total, summed the senior’s night up with a sentiment Mollison’s teammates undoubtedly share.

“I’m glad she’s on my team,” Reese said. “She’s a leader for us on offense. She always goes 100 percent on everything that she does. She just has such high expectations for herself, but she raises the level of everyone around her.”

castello@umdbk.com