BTN.com staff, BTN.com staff, May 17, 2015

No. 1 Maryland used an 11-goal second half to take down No. 8 seed Northwestern, 17-5, in the NCAA quarterfinals Sunday.

[ MORE: View the official NCAA tourney bracket ]

Seniors Kristen Lamon (4 goals, 2 assists), Brooke Griffin (4G), Kelly McPartland (2G, 3A) and Erin Collins (3G, 1A) helped send the Terrapins to their seventh consecutive Final Four.

?First off, I?d like to congratulate Northwestern on a great season,? head coach Cathy Reese said. ?They came out fighting hard today and we knew it was going to be a really great game with the tradition and history of these programs. I?m really proud of my team?s effort. I can?t even speak enough to how we came out in the second half, and I?m just super proud of how they fought and played hard.?

[ MORE: Maryland men drop UNC, advance to Final Four ]

The Terps (19-1) and Wildcats began the game evenly matched as the teams were tied 2-2 halfway through the first half. Goals from Lamon and Griffin gave Maryland the lead, and Megan Whittle and McPartland scored in the last four minutes. Northwestern?s Selena Lasota, who leads the team in goals, and Sheila Nesselbush each scored twice in the first as the Terps held on for a 6-4 lead at halftime.

Maryland came out attacking in the second half as the Terrapins notched nine unanswered goals through the first 20 minutes. Lamon started the scoring just 28 seconds into the half while Collins finished a goal just over a minute later. Griffin scored a goal off a backdoor pass from McPartland at 24:32.

Lamon completed a hat trick at 24:32 and Collins finished her hat trick at 23:43 as the Terps continued the scoring onslaught. Zoe Stukenberg recorded a free-position goal before Griffin scored two highlight-worthy goals, including one while falling in front of the crease, within a minute. McPartland notched a free-position goal at 10:48.

Kaleigh Craig was able stop the Terps? scoring spree at 9:52 for the Wildcats? only goal of the half. Taylor Cummings and Lamon finished the scoring in the last seven minutes as the Terps took a 17-5 win.

Goalkeeper Alex Fitzpatrick finished the game with five saves while allowing just five goals.

The Terps led in shots, 24-19, and finished with 21 shots on goal. Maryland held an 11-6 ground ball advantage. The Terps went 5-of-6 on free-position shots while holding Northwestern to no 8-meter shots.

Through two 2015 NCAA games, the Terrapins are averaging 18 goals per game while holding opponents to 6.5 goals per game. Maryland snapped Northwestern?s 10-year streak of Final Four appearances.

The Terps will face No. 4 seed Syracuse in the NCAA semifinals Friday at either 5 or 7:30 p.m. at PPL Park. Maryland defeated the Orange, 10-7, on March 7 in College Park.