Even though she looked a little rusty after missing Maryland's first three games of the season while serving a suspension, Lynetta Kizer's presence helped the Terrapins put away a pesky in-state rival.
Tianna Hawkins had 19 points and 18 rebounds, Kizer scored 12 points in her return from a ban and No. 10 Maryland beat the University of Maryland, Baltimore County 70-59 on Saturday night.
Kizer, who was penalized for an unspecified violation of team rules, entered the game midway through the first half. She immediately provided a physical lift for the Terrapins, but the 6-foot-4 senior center looked out of synch at times.
''It feels good (to be back). I was excited to play in the game,'' said Kizer, who logged 19 minutes in her season debut. ''I'm proud of my teammates, how they worked with me.''
After scoring four points in five first-half minutes, Kizer exerted her presence in the second half, when Maryland repeatedly withstood UMBC comeback attempts.
She put in Anjale Barrett's miss with 10:42 left to make it 51-45, muscled between two defenders to finish off a transition fast break for a 56-47 lead and then converted a layup to expand the cushion to 11 points.
''I really liked how Lynetta played,'' Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. ''She really let the game come to herself and gave us a big spark with her presence inside. Giving us a low-post presences, with her and Tianna, (was important) especially as we battled through some foul trouble with Tianna.''
Frese wouldn't commit to a plan for Kizer's playing time moving forward, saying ''every game's going to be different. In every game, you have to see how it unfolds.''
Brene Moseley added 14 points for the Terrapins (4-0), who improved to 10-0 all-time against the Retrievers (2-2).
UMBC, the defending America East regular season champions, got 14 points each from Erin Brown and Michelle Kurowski and 12 from Lauren Chase.
''I'm really proud of the effort we put forth,'' said UMBC coach Phil Stern. ''We don't want to lose, but I think we certainly showed everybody we can play with the best tonight.''
The Retrievers fell to 0-20 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents and saw a 12-game home winning streak end.
With the game tied 9-9 after Chase scored on a backdoor cut, Maryland reeled off a 17-3 run, taking a 14-point lead on a pair of free throws by Kizer. Moseley had seven points in the burst.
But the Retrievers knocked down three 3-pointers, Brown converted a three-point play and a Kurowski jumper from the right baseline cut the Terrapins' lead to 32-29 with 4:02 remaining in the first half.
Maryland scored eight of the next 10 points, taking a 40-31 halftime lead on Hawkins' right-side bank shot with 28.2 seconds left. Hawkins had 12 points and 10 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Laurin Mincey hit a 3 on Maryland's first possession of the second half, but the Terrapins misfired on their next six possessions. While Maryland struggled, Kurowski was scoring six points in an 9-0 burst, and her left-wing 3-pointer got the Retrievers within 43-40 with 16:05 remaining.
Kizer then muscled in the rebound of a Moseley miss and Alicia DeVaughn scored off a transition layup for a 47-40 Maryland lead.
Chase's three-point play cut the Maryland lead to four points with 12:10 left, but UMBC didn't connect again from the field until Brittany Crowell jumper with 2:55 remaining cut the lead to 64-52.
