Allie Kubek stood rooted on the left block, waiting for an opening. The senior forward motioned with her left hand for Kaylene Smikle to swing a pass to Christina Dalce at the free throw line. Kubek’s defender helped off of her, rotating through the lane to close out on Dalce.

The play call worked to perfection. A wide-open Kubek received the entry pass from Dalce before banking in a layup, providing Maryland women’s basketball with its first points while halting a 7-0 Norfolk State scoring run.

It was the Terps’ only field goal for nearly five minutes to open the first quarter. Kubek scored 10 of No. 4 seed Maryland’s 30 first-half points in its 82-69 win over No. 13 Norfolk State on Saturday — grounding the Terps early amid a shaky start to NCAA tournament play.

“She gave us a great presence all night,” coach Brenda Frese said. “She was really confident and really strong. You need to have that inside, outside presence within your team.”

Kubek’s final season hasn’t gone as many expected. Her scoring has regressed, and she went through a significant midseason slump. But the Towson transfer has shined in the postseason at Maryland.

[Maryland women’s basketball avoids upset against Norfolk State, advances with 82-69 win]

She poured in a career-high 29 points in Maryland’s 93-86 NCAA tournament loss to Iowa State last year. Kubek hit seven 3-pointers on an efficient 83 percent shooting to keep Maryland in the game against the experienced Cyclones.

“I really just enjoy playing in the [NCAA] tournament … Just that kind of pressure,” Kubek said. “[It’s] such a big stage.”

The standout showing wasn’t enough to advance last year, but the Terps hosted the first round this season.

This wasn’t a typical matchup between a mid-major and a Big Ten school, though. Norfolk State made its third consecutive appearance in the ‘Big Dance’, while Maryland lacked tournament experience.

Kubek and Shyanne Sellers were the only two Maryland starters to play in last year’s tournament, despite featuring 11 upperclassmen. Transfers Sarah Te-Biasu, Kaylene Smikle and Christina Dalce played in a combined four tournament games prior to Saturday.

Norfolk State returned nine of its 12 players this season. Bolstered by previous postseason experiences, it wasn’t afraid of the moment, Frese said.

The Spartans looked like the more comfortable team through the first two quarters. They rattled the Terps with an aggressive press defense, forcing 12 turnovers and holding Maryland to just 12-30 shooting in the first half.

“Some [players] were a little bit nervous, honestly,” Kubek said. “[I was] just being a steady voice in the first half.”

Kubek kept Maryland afloat. The Spartans didn’t play a single player bigger than Kubek on Saturday and allowed interior shots.

The 6-foot-2 forward recognized the mismatch — nearly all of her seven made shots came inside the paint. She scored a team-high 10 first-half points.

[Shyanne Sellers’ time with Maryland women’s basketball shaped by selflessness, leadership]

Norfolk State’s Diamond Johnson was even better than Kubek, scoring 16 points in the first half. The 5-foot-5 guard led a personal 7-2 run to open the second period that gave the Spartans a two point lead at halftime.

“We had to really make an adjustment in the second half to be able to pick up our pace, especially defensively,” Frese said.

Kubek and Maryland did an improved job in limiting Johnson’s production out of the break. She scored just two points on 1-for-6 shooting in the second half.

“Everything starts on the defensive end,” Kubek said. “Getting rebounds, blocks, charges — honestly, if we do something well on the defensive end, it gives us energy on the offensive end too.”

While the defense still allowed 20 third-quarter points, Maryland’s offense scored 30 points in the frame. A Kubek layup sparked a 12-5 scoring blitz, ballooning the Terp lead to as much as 11 before the end of the frame.

Kubek, Smikle, Te-Biasu and Sellers all scored during the run. The four combined for 50 of Maryland’s 52 second-half points on increased efficiency, protecting a double-digit lead until the final buzzer sounded.

“If we just play Maryland basketball — rebound, defend, run — we’ll be just fine,” Kubek said.