Freshman Shakira Austin played like a veteran to help the Maryland women’s basketball team beat Illinois.

Austin scored 17 points and fellow freshman Taylor Mikesell added 14 for the 10th-ranked Terps, who moved into a tie with Rutgers for the top spot in the Big Ten. The teams will play on Sunday at Rutgers.

The 6-foot-5 Austin also grabbed seven rebounds for Maryland (20-2, 9-2 Big Ten).

“They didn’t really have the height and we took advantage of that,” Austin said.

“You really have to look at our size and talent,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “It’s quite a luxury to have.”

Brandi Beasley scored 17 points for Illinois (9-13, 1-10). Sarah Shewan and Alex Wittinger added 16 and 15 points respectively for the Illini.

Illinois stayed in the game until the final period. Maryland went cold in the third quarter, shooting 5 of 18 from the field.

Illinois came on hard at the end of the half, with Shewan hitting two 3s and Beasley adding another in a span of less than a minute.

Shewan was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc.

“I didn’t really hesitate out there,” Shewan said. “And I felt pretty good.”

Illinois coach Nancy Fahey was happy with her team’s effort.

“We’re looking for effort out there,” she said. “And I think we saw that tonight. We got beat, but we’re not losers.”

Maryland led 48-37 at the half.

“I thought we came out aggressive and really pushed them,” coach Frese said. “But Illinois battled back in the second and third periods. You have to give them and our conference credit. Anyone can beat anyone on any given night.”

The Terps shot 28 of 63 from the field (44 percent), while Illinois was 25 of 63 (40 percent). Maryland held the edge in rebounds, 44-33.

“It’s great having two freshmen lead us tonight,” Frese said of Austin and Mikesell. “But it’s February now, so I guess I don’t really look at them as freshmen anymore.”

UMES 78, Savannah State 46: Keyera Eaton scored 15 points and the host Hawks rolled to their sixth straight win.

Ciani Byrom scored 13 points and Bairesha Gill-Miles added 10 for UMES (13-10, 9-1), which trails only North Carolina A&T (10-10, 7-0) in the conference standings.

During their winning streak, the Hawks have held their opponent to 46 points or fewer four times.

No. 1 Baylor 74, No. 14 Texas 68: Moon Ursin scored 20 points and top-ranked Baylor held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by No. 14 Texas to get a tough win and put a huge gap between the Lady Bears and the rest of the league in their chase for a ninth consecutive Big 12 championship.

Baylor was in control and leading 61-42 to start the fourth quarter before the Longhorns stormed back with a 20-6 run that cut the lead to five. Danni Williams made two 3-pointers and a layup off a mid-court steal in an eight-point burst.

The Lady Bears finally put the game away with Chloe Jackson’s two free throws with 8 seconds left.

Kalani Brown scored 13 of her 15 in the second half for Baylor (20-1, 10-0 Big 12).

Sug Sutton and Williams each scored 19 for Texas (18-5, 8-3).

Men

Savannah State 68, UMES 63: Zach Sellers scored 19 points, Zaquavian Smith added 15 and the Tigers beat the host Hawks.

Savannah State was ahead 62-52, its largest advantage of the game, with just under five minutes left, but UMES got within 64-61 two minutes later.

SSU made its first nine free throws before missing three straight late to let UMES back in it. But Sellers made two straight to seal it with 11.4 remaining, making it 67-63.

Jaquan Dotson had a game-high 12 rebounds and Romani Hansen scored 11 for Savannah State (7-15, 4-4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference). The Tigers made 10 3-pointers and 12 free throws.

It was tied at 29 at halftime and the game finished with 14 lead changes. Bryan Urrutia led UMES (4-21, 2-8) with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Ryan Andino scored 11 and Ahmad Frost added 10 points.

Penn State 59, Northwestern 52: Lamar Stevens scored 18 points and Penn State beat Northwestern to end an eight-game losing streak.

The Nittany Lions (8-14, 1-10) picked up their first Big Ten win and stopped their longest skid since a 14-game streak during the 2012-13 season. They made just enough stops down the stretch to send the Wildcats (12-10, 3-8) to their third straight loss.

Stevens had seven rebounds and six assists. Rasir Bolton added 14 points, though he shot just 3 of 14, and the Nittany Lions won despite struggling from the floor and the foul line.

They made just one field goal over the final five minutes. They hit 3 of 15 3-pointers in the game and were 16 of 26 on free throws.

Dererk Pardon led Northwestern with 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Vic Law had 10 points and 10 rebounds. But he committed six turnovers and shot 3 of 17 after missing 6 of 8 in a five-point effort against Maryland last week.

Seeking their first win since a lopsided victory over UMBC on Dec. 29, the Nittany Lions led 45-37 midway through the second half after six-point spurt.

Law missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with Penn State leading 53-47 with 4:16 remaining. He also had a layup blocked by Stevens with just under three minutes left and the Nittany Lions leading by four.