Maryland women’s basketball’s Amari DeBerry stood on the block, fighting for position against UCLA’s Lauren Betts. Betts caught an entry pass from Angela Dugalic in one fluid motion, sealing DeBerry before rising up for a layup to provide the game’s first points.

Betts’ scoring total ballooned to 14 after just one quarter. The 6-foot-7 center shot an efficient 7-for-8 in the frame and continued dominating as the outing ensued — all the result of free paint touches that the Terps failed to provide an answer on.

Interior scoring powered the No. 1 Bruins to an early lead that was never relinquished, handing No. 8 Maryland its third consecutive loss, 82-67, to cap its four-game stretch against ranked opponents. UCLA (20-0, 8-0 Big Ten) out-scored the Terps by 18 points in the paint.

Sunday marked DeBerry’s first career start. As Maryland’s (16-4, 6-3 Big Ten) tallest player at 6-foot-6, coach Brenda Frese searched to combat the Bruins’ size.

“We were trying to match length with [Amari],” Frese said. “Watching film, teams that had the size to go against [Betts] impacted her a little bit.”

Despite Betts’ scoring success, DeBerry chipped in early across the stat sheet — piling in a block, steal, rebound and a made jumper in just seven minutes.

[No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball’s second half woes lead to 74-66 loss to No. 12 Ohio State]

A back-and-forth opening frame resulted in a plethora of fast-paced possession changes, with 13 forced turnovers between both teams aided. All-but one of the Terps’ seven players who logged minutes scored at least one basket. Maryland had six points of takeaways in a flurry of transition scores.

UCLA jetted out to an 11-4 scoring run to begin the second quarter, fueled by its sole made triple of the first half — a straightaway 3-pointer from junior guard Londynn Jones. A myriad of Betts paint scores followed the perimeter basket, increasing the lead to double-digits minutes later.

Frese, searching for a match to limit UCLA’s frontcourt prowess, rotated a carousel of defenders on Betts through the remainder of the first half.

“She’s so physical and she’s so strong … she was getting way too many layups,” Frese said. “It’s just a credit to her.”

Forwards Christina Dalce and Allie Kubek joined DeBerry as primary defenders, limiting the Bruins to just 10 second-quarter paint points — an improvement from their first-quarter total of 18. Betts was responsible for 24 of UCLA’s first 28 points inside the box, making all-but one of her 12 first half shots. The junior finished with 33 points.

But the Terps crashed the glass through the latter half of the period, securing 10 emphatic rebounds while doubling the Bruins’ second-quarter board total in the process.

“We were up at halftime, we had more o-boards than them. That’s got to be who we are right now,” Frese said. “The rebounding, that’s huge. That should give us a lot of confidence.”

[No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball suffers 89-51 blowout loss to No. 7 Texas]

Maryland’s improved rebounding quickly translated to offense before the break. A 12-2 run — paired with strong defense that limited the Bruins to only one made field goal during the frame’s final three-and-a-half minutes — trimmed the Terps’ deficit to as small as three.

Redshirt junior guard Saylor Poffenbarger, one of the keys of the spurt, finished with a team-high 18 points. It marked the most she’s scored against any Big Ten opponent this season.

“Just being able to put ourselves in this position to do what we do best is really important, and it’s coming along,” Poffenbarger said.

But once more, UCLA took control to start the second half. The Bruins poured in seven points in less than two minutes to open the third quarter to extend their advantage back to double-digits.

With mere seconds left on the third-quarter clock, Poffenbarger circled the perimeter. She shot a contested jumper that Betts blocked — her fourth of the game — before the buzzer sounded. It capitalized a 17-point Bruin advantage entering the final period.

A pair of fourth-quarter free throws from Betts gave the junior a new career-high, simultaneously extending UCLA’s lead to 20 midway through the frame.

Maryland fell to 0-3 against top-10 ranked opponents with the loss, two of which came during the week. The Terps’ next chance to snap their three-game losing streak comes on the road Wednesday against Penn State.