No. 8 Maryland women’s lacrosse experienced a third straight slow start but used a long defensive stand to carry momentum out of the first quarter.

The Terps then scored on their next four possessions en route to a nine-goal second quarter and a commanding 16-8 road win over No. 19 USC in the teams’ first all-time meeting.

“USC came up with the first couple draws and went down and scored a couple times,” coach Cathy Reese said. “But proud of how we responded and rebounded, we did an excellent job on the draw control today.”

Maryland (9-3, 4-1 Big Ten) entered the contest after losing the draw control battle for the first time this year when Arizona State won 21 of the 34 draws on Thursday. But after losing the opening two draws to the Trojans, the Terps won the next 13 — helping them score 12 unanswered goals and take a double-digit lead.

Five turnovers limited Maryland’s offense to two goals in the opening quarter, but a cleaner second quarter allowed it to dominate possession.

Midfielder Kayla Gilmore dominated throughout the second, aiding Maryland to win nine of the 10 draw controls in the quarter. The freshman won them in nearly every way possible, grabbing any balls that went straight in the air and shooting balls to her teammates on the edge of the circle.

The Trojans attempted to adjust by calling a timeout and using three different draw specialists, but no one stopped Gilmore until under a minute remained.

[Maryland women’s lacrosse uses second-half comeback to defeat Arizona State, 18-14]

Maryland’s dominance on the draws put immense pressure on USC’s defense, and the Terps capitalized throughout the quarter. Midfielder Kori Edmondson spearheaded Maryland’s offensive attack in nearly every game this season, and the junior entered the contest with four goals in three straight games.

The Trojans (8-5, 1-4 Big Ten) sent double and triple teams towards Edmondson, and though that limited her to just one goal, it allowed attacker Chrissy Thomas to shine.

“She’s been really working hard this week at taking charge on the offensive end,” Reese said. “[We were] like, Chrissy, you need to get a goal, we need you to step up and take some shots and … she did that today.”

Most of Thomas’ points this year were by feeding her teammates from the X position. On Saturday, the graduate student instead showcased her shooting skills.

Thomas lined up for a free-position chance on the right side of the eight-meter arc 45 seconds into the second quarter. The graduate student then took several short and explosive steps toward the net before ripping a shot past freshman goalkeeper Charlotte Morton and evening the score at three.

Thomas scored again less than a minute later, before setting up her teammate on half of Maryland’s next six goals.

With 11:32 remaining in the quarter, Thomas caught a pass behind the net from Gilmore. The Trojans quickly brought a double team toward Thomas, but she backed up and delivered a short pass to freshman Shelby Sullivan.

[Freshman Shelby Sullivan has become a unexpected leader for Maryland women’s lacrosse]

While the pass did not cover much space, it made the defense scramble. Sullivan took advantage, quickly dodging to her right before rifling a shot into the upper right corner that gave the Terps a 6-3 edge.

Thomas finished the quarter by delivering a quick shot into the right corner after Maryland sprinted through the midfield in transition. Six of Thomas’ seven points — a joint-career high — came in the second. She also notched her first hat trick of the season.

The Terps took an 11-3 lead into the half, which was essential for the Terps as the Trojans had struggled mightily in the second half against Big Ten opponents this season.

USC only recorded 14 second-half tallies in four Big Ten games, and those struggles continued against Maryland.

The Trojans scored four of the five goals in the final quarter, but that wasn’t nearly enough to overcome their second and third-quarter lulls. The win improved Maryland to 3-3 against top-25 opponents.

The Terps’ dominant win is a good sign, as three of their final four games are against ranked opponents.