March 07--Lexie Brown's lineage suggests she's a natural with a basketball in her hands. Her performance Friday confirmed it.
On Friday, the Maryland sophomore had a game-best 27 points and seven steals during a 70-60 victory against Michigan State, the Terrapins' third against the Spartans this season, in a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal at Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.
"I just wanted to do whatever it took to get us off to a hot start," Brown said. "I was just getting open looks and I shot them with confidence."
The sophomore guard also has helped fourth-ranked Maryland, one of the new kids on the block in the Big Ten, feel right at home in its first year in the conference. The fourth-ranked Terrapins were 18-0 in regular-season Big Ten play and are 28-2 overall, winning by an average of 20.5 points per game before Friday.
Brown's father, Dee Brown, was the 1991 NBA slam dunk champion and averaged 11.1 points per game over 13 seasons with three teams. He's now an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings.
The Terrapins will face the winner of the Northwestern-Rutgers game in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Fresh off a Final Four appearance last season, the Terrapins haven't lost in more than three months, since dropping back-to-back games to Washington State and Notre Dame.
Aerial Powers led Michigan State (16-15) with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added nine points, six rebounds and five assists for Maryland, while Brionna Jones had nine points and seven rebounds.
After the game, Brown carried with her a small reward for her hard work -- a makeshift trophy with a black Dodge Charger resting on top.
Fitting, since Brown was behind the wheel for Maryland all game.
"I took a charge today," Brown said. "So that's what that is."
pskrbina@tribpub.com
