COLLEGE PARK — The law of averages would seem to suggest that Johns Hopkins will defeat Maryland in women’s lacrosse some day. That day was not Saturday.

The No. 7 Terps used a crucial five-goal run spanning the first two quarters to take a four-goal lead that they would not relinquish in a 13-11 victory over the No. 8 Blue Jays before an announced 1,578 at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.

Maryland maintained its dominance over its state and Big Ten rival, improving to 27-0 in the all-time series. Those are the most wins against an opponent without a setback in program history.

“That’s really cool. I didn’t really know that, but that’s sick,” said senior attacker Jordyn Lipkin, who scored a game-high four goals. “It’s a good in-state rivalry. So very fun, exciting to know, and I guess we’ll just keep that going.”

As lopsided as the rivalry has been, coach Cathy Reese wasn’t one to overlook the Blue Jays.

“Hopkins is a really strong team,” she said. “There’s a reason they’re a top-10 team at this point in the season. That was a good fight from my Maryland team to come away with a great win.”

The victory sealed for the Terps (12-4, 7-1 Big Ten) the No. 2 seed in next week’s league tournament, which they will host. They will meet No. 7 seed Rutgers (8-9, 2-6) in a quarterfinal on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Maryland’s offense ran primarily through Lipkin and junior midfielder Kori Edmondson. Lipkin scored the team’s first three goals in a 2:57 span of the first quarter and added her game-high fourth with 2:27 left in the second. Edmondson, a Severn resident and McDonogh graduate, went a perfect 3-for-3 on free-position shots.

Sophomore attacker Lauren LaPointe accumulated four points on two goals and two assists, and graduate student attacker Chrissy Thomas finished with two goals and one assist. But Terps coach Cathy Reese pointed out that the offense’s success slipped from shooting 53.3% (8 of 15) in the first half to 29.4% (5 of 17) in the second.

“We had good looks,” she said. “Sometimes the goalie made some great saves. That’s not to take away from them, but sometimes for us, it’s seeing the cage and taking that extra second so that we don’t get ahead of ourselves. We were over 50% in the first half, and we kept chipping away. We displayed confidence and poise through the whole time. Even when they were coming back, we answered with goals. I think that’s a sign of our team to show how far we’ve grown this season.”

The turning point occurred late in the first quarter. Trailing 3-2, Maryland scored five unanswered goals in a 9:46 span bridging the first two quarters to enjoy a 7-3 advantage. Edmondson scored twice and Lapointe scored once and assisted on another to spark that run.

“It was awesome,” Lipkin said. “It made us more relaxed, confident and just having fun. I think that was the biggest thing we were trying to focus on today. Doing the little things right, knowing that the game would come to us and just having fun with it because when that happens, as you see, everything falls into place.”

The defense was nearly as productive as the offense. Sophomore goalkeeper JJ Suriano, a Baltimore resident and Bryn Mawr graduate, made nine saves, and Johns Hopkins went through stretches of 14:43 and 16:29 without scoring.

“Hopkins is a tough team to defend because they work so tightly and they’re always picking and moving and trying to create offense where it really takes discipline defensively,” Reese said. “I think we gave up too many fouls and put them on the 8 meter [more] than we would’ve liked. But I thought our communication and the way we were able to talk and listen to each other to get through their picks was really good. JJ was able to make saves, and we did an excellent job clearing the ball. So I was really happy with our performance defensively.”

The Blue Jays played their third consecutive game without starting attacker Ashley Mackin, a senior who leads the team in both goals (55) and points (73). Mackin, who has not played since a 16-6 rout at Ohio State on April 10, wore a walking boot on her right foot and is considered day-to-day, but coach Tim McCormack refused to use her absence as an excuse.

“What we do isn’t designed necessarily around one person,” he said. “Her presence out there is excellent. She has obviously played so well for us. So no question, we miss her. But everybody in this locker room knows that if it’s their chance to go, they’re going to step up and they’re going to play. There shouldn’t be a feeling of any self doubt that we’re missing somebody because the whole structure is based around all seven of us.”

Sophomore midfielder Lacey Downey and sophomore attacker Taylor Hoss paced Johns Hopkins (11-5, 5-3) with four points on three goals and one assist each, senior attacker Ava Angello scored three times, and senior attacker Charlotte Smith, a Baltimore resident and Bryn Mawr graduate, compiled one goal and two assists. But the team failed to capitalize on freshman Laurel Gonzalez’s ability to control 11 draws, which contributed to a 17-10 advantage on draws.

McCormack said he did not think the program’s losing streak against the Terps impacted the players.

“This one didn’t seem to have any of that weight bearing on them,” he said. “They came out here to play and tried to play 60 minutes of Blue Jays lacrosse and probably fell just short of that. That’s why we find ourselves in a tight game, but on the wrong side of it.”

The loss means the Blue Jays will be the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The team will face No. 4 seed Penn State (7-8, 5-3) on Wednesday at 12 p.m.

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.