With 7:20 remaining in the first half against Princeton on Wednesday, Maryland women’s lacrosse needed a stop. Despite a four-goal lead, the Terps were in the midst of a scoring dry spell.

Princeton midfielder Kathryn Hallett found space behind the cage, and threw a dangerous pass inside. Three Terps reacted, closing in on the ball and diverting it away from a lurking attacker.

Their collective reaction led to a ground ball opportunity, which midfielder Jen Giles seized upon. She promptly cleared the ball, one of many times Maryland’s defensive instincts foiled a Tigers attack.

Maryland consistently provided stops to hold off a fast-moving Princeton offense Wednesday night at Maryland Stadium. The Terps’ collective effort in playing an intelligent brand of defense carried them to a convincing 15-7 victory.

“They create a lot of opportunities,” coach Cathy Reese said. “Defensively, we really stepped up today.”

[Read more: No. 2 Maryland women’s lacrosse blows past No. 16 Princeton, 15-7, despite 17 turnovers]

For every move the Princeton offense made, the Terps had an answer. They matched a season high with 10 caused turnovers and held the Tigers to a season-low 27 percent shooting. Most notably, though, the Terps spread out Princeton’s scores, preventing big runs that have plagued them against other ranked opponents.

Maryland started off the game nearly flawlessly, pouring in five goals on 5-for-5 shooting within the first six minutes.

“[Our] practice really challenges us to play whatever style of defense we’re going to see,” Giles said.

[Read more: James Madison slowed Maryland women’s lacrosse’s offense, but couldn’t stop it]

While their offense was firing, the defense set a solid foundation that the Terps’ would build on for the rest of the game.

On Princeton’s first possession, attacker Tess D’Orsi tried to execute a sidestep around defender Meghan Doherty. The redshirt junior reacted quickly, getting her body between D’Orsi and the cage while knocking the ball away for a turnover. With the Princeton defense disorganized, Maryland quickly turned the possession into a score.

A finish from midfielder Erica Evans’ opened up a 3-0 lead the Tigers would never trim.

“We knew they were going to have a lot of movement,” defender Lizzie Colson said. “Communicating through the picks was a big thing.”

The Tigers are known for their fast-moving offense. Behind the passing abilities of attackers Elizabeth George and Kyla Sears, Princeton entered Wednesday averaging 8.0 assists per game, tied for seventh in the nation. Maryland allowed the Tigers just four.

And the Terps did more than force timely turnovers. Prior to Wednesday’s clash, the Tigers were shooting 51 percent, with their lowest single-game performance at 39 percent. Princeton poured in 21 goals against Penn State — a team Maryland scored 17 against — and added 19 against Columbia. Maryland held Princeton to 27 percent shooting on 26 attempts.

As usual, goalkeeper Megan Taylor was a force in the cage. She matched her season high with 14 saves, completing simple and acrobatic stops alike in a dominant performance. In one four-minute stretch in the first half, she blocked four shots in a row.

“Even if I get beat, I just know Megan has my back,” Colson said. “I can’t say enough about her.”

There were multiple occasions in which Princeton’s shifty ball movement beat the Maryland defenders. More often than not, Taylor had an answer, finishing with a .667 save percentage.

The home side had something of a bumpy start on defense, with a miscommunication allowing Haney to take a wide-open shot for Princeton’s first goal of the day.

But Maryland bounced back quickly to piece together one of its better defensive performances of the season.

“We had a little lapse there in the first half,” Colson said. “Once we brought it back together, we communicated through things.”

Last season, Maryland’s strength was its offense, which ranked seventh in the nation, while its defense lagged behind at No. 18. This year, the offense has held steady at eighth, but the defense has leapt up to No. 3, thanks to performances like Wednesday’s.

“Defensively, we are coming together so well,” Reese said. “We’re communicating, playing together well and trusting each other.”