Maryland women’s lacrosse’s draw circle looked different on Wednesday.

Midfielder Kayla Gilmore had made every start this season for the Terps. But standing inside the draw circle against Rutgers in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals was attacker Hailey Russo.

No. 2-seed Maryland dominated in that spot despite Gilmore’s absence. The Terps crushed the No. 7-seed Scarlet Knights in the draw battle, 21-11, in a 17-11 win at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.

“I called her name and I said, ‘I need you to step up,’ and she said, ‘Got it,’” coach Cathy Reese said. “Russo doesn’t get a lot of playing time … [but] she brought the energy today, and she brought the execution.”

Gilmore began the game as Maryland’s leader in draw controls. The freshman started the year in rotation with fellow freshman Devin Livingston, but throughout the season, Gilmore emerged as the staple in Maryland’s draw unit.

But Russo had experience in the draw circle. The senior recorded 18 draw controls in her three prior seasons and was sparingly used throughout the season.

The most time Russo spent in the draw circle this season came against Denver back on March 1. The senior was substituted in the second half and secured seven draw controls, allowing Maryland to mount a second-half comeback.

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The senior used her experience against Rutgers on Wednesday, taking every draw for the Terps and assisting them in winning 21 of 32 draws. The extra possessions allowed Maryland’s offense to find its rhythm after a sluggish opening quarter.

“We just didn’t shoot well in the first quarter,” Reese said. “But as the game went on — I mean, for us to put up 17 goals against them, I thought was an awesome job by our offense.”

In Maryland’s prior game this season against Rutgers, Maryland changed its shooting strategy in the final quarter. Instead of shooting high on graduate student goalkeeper Lexie Coldiron, the Terps focused their shots near Coldiron’s far-side hip and inside her legs.”

The offensive adjustment proved successful for the Terps’ offense as they scored on their first three shots of the quarter. Two of those goals came from midfielder Kori Edmondson’s stick, and the Tewaaraton nominee continued to dominate by employing the same strategy.

Edmondson’s first goal came on a free-position chance, but her second showcased all of the unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection’s ability.

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With 12:44 remaining in the second quarter, Edmondson corralled the ball on the upper left side of the eight-meter arc. The junior quickly dodged to her right before weaving between three stick checks and placing a shot past Coldiron’s right hip to give Maryland a 4-2 lead. The goal helped spark a Maryland offense that struggled in the opening quarter.

Despite Maryland’s offense utilizing the same strategy as Edmondson, the rest of the unit struggled to convert on chances because of its predictability. Maryland placed all 12 of its first-quarter shots below the knees of Coldiron, allowing the nation’s leader in saves to easily anticipate where Maryland was shooting.

“In the first quarter … we were just shooting at her,” Edmondson said. “But the game plan was to come in and just shoot for net, shoot low, find the net, and that’s all we needed to do.”

But in the following quarter, Maryland did a better job of varying its shots as Livingston beat Coldiron to the upper right corner on her free position chance, and sophomore attacker Lauren LaPointe scored between Coldiron’s legs. The Terps shot just 25 percent in the opening quarter, but the adjustment saw Maryland shoot over 44 percent in the following quarter.

The Terps’ offense continued to thrive in the second half, scoring 10 times. They finished the game shooting 41 percent, as Coldiron surrendered her most goals since March 23 against Johns Hopkins.

Russo’s dominance in the draw circle allowed her to not only avenge last season’s upset to Rutgers, but slap the Maryland sticker on the Big Ten bracket. Maryland will now await the winner of No. 3-seed Michigan and No. 6-seed USC.

“She gave us 21 draw controls, [so] she can slap that sucker on anytime she wants,” Reese said.