As attacker Megan Whittle tied the Maryland women’s lacrosse career scoring record, one of the team’s worst performances all season put a damper on her milestone.

Going into halftime in their matchup against Princeton, the No. 3 Terps found themselves down 7-4. It was the first time this year Maryland trailed at the half, and the four goals in the first period were a season low. The team needed a significant change to avoid its first loss to an unranked opponent under coach Cathy Reese.

With Princeton’s leading scorer out of play for the second period, the Terps were able to pull away with a 11-10 win on Tuesday at Class of 1952 Stadium after finishing the game on a 7-2 run.

Toward the end of the first half, midfielder Kyla Sears, who leads the Tigers in goals and points, was sidelined after getting a second yellow card. Sears had found the net twice in the first half against goalkeeper Megan Taylor.

But Whittle said her team would have gotten the win regardless of whether Sears was on the field.

“It was more our defense was able to step up,” Whittle said. “At the end of the day, we’re about the Terps. Whatever is happening on the other side of the field, we’re going to figure it out.”

Still, it wasn’t an easy path to victory. With Maryland down late in a tough situation, Reese said her team’s mindset was key.

“I don’t think you focus on outcomes, you don’t focus on the end play — you focus on the one right in front of you,” Reese said. “We stayed present, we won the moment and that’s what ended up winning the game.”

The Terps held Princeton scoreless for almost nine minutes to start the half, but they couldn’t produce any points of their own until more than three minutes later.

While Maryland pulled away with the win, its offense struggled to produce throughout, making just 11 of its 30 shots. The Terps’ goal total was their fewest in a single game since March 22, 2017 against Penn.

But Maryland’s defense tightened down the stretch. Despite a rocky start, Taylor ended with 12 saves and limited Princeton to two goals in the final 20 minutes, allowing the Terps to rally late.

And several Terps shined on offense. Attacker Caroline Steele tallied three goals, and so did Whittle, who matched Jen Adams’ program record with 267 career scores. And attacker Taylor Hensh sealed the game with her second free position goal of the day, putting Maryland up by one with less than a minute to go to in the game.

“Taylor is one of our best eight-meter shooters,” Reese said. “To be put on the line twice as a senior leader for us on the offensive end and then make it count was what we needed from her. … She’s going to make big time plays at that point.”