WESTMINSTER, MD – What a difference three weeks can make.
 
Just 21 days after topping McDaniel, 50-48, in a game in which it was held to just 14 first-half points, the #15/#18 Johns Hopkins women's basketball took most of the drama out of Wednesday night's rematch early as the Blue Jays sprinted to a 19-8 first-quarter lead and never let the Green Terror get closer than 12 in the final 25 minutes of a 64-50 victory at the Gill Center.
 
The win bumps the Blue Jays' winning streak to 10 and improves their record to 19-3 overall and 11-1 in the Centennial Conference.  With just two league games remaining, the Blue Jays also officially locked up a bye in the opening round of the upcoming Centennial Conference Tournament and will host a semifinal game in the tournament on Friday, February 28.
 
Up 5-3 early, the Blue Jays grabbed control with a 14-6 run that gave them a 19-6 lead in the final minute of the first quarter. Seniors Michaela O'Neil (6 points) and Greta Miller (4) combined for 10 of the 14 points during the spurt for the Blue Jays, who limited the Terror to just 2-of-8 shooting with three turnovers in a span of more than seven minutes.
 
Johns Hopkins extended the 11-point lead at the end of the first quarter to 21 at the half (41-20) as the Blue Jays outscored the Green Terror 22-12 in the second period.  After an Ally Mathias layup pulled the Terror within 13 at 27-14, sophomore Layla Henderson ignited a 14-4 Blue Jay run that extended the lead to 41-18 late in the quarter.  Johns Hopkins got three-pointers from Henderson and Grace Soltes, hit 6-of-8 from the free throw line and forced more McDaniel turnovers (5) than it allowed shots during what proved to be the game's decisive run.
 
McDaniel (15-7, 6-5 CC), which entered the game a perfect 9-0 record on its home court this season, made the run everyone expected in the third quarter and twice had the 21-point halftime deficit down to 13.  An early 8-0 spurt, during which the Terror hit all four of their shots from the floor, trimmed the Blue Jay lead to 43-30 and it was still a 13-point game with 80 seconds left in the quarter after a Caroline Barbaloto free throw, but Kendall Dunham sparked a quarter-ending six-point run for the Blue Jays with a layup and two free throws to account for a 54-35 score entering the fourth quarter.
 
The lead hovered between 12 and 19 points throughout the fourth quarter of what eventually became the 14-point victory, Hopkins' 16^th straight in the series.
 
O'Neil (16 points), Dunham (14) and Miller (10) led the way for the Blue Jays, who also got six points, a game-high 11 rebounds and four assists from Macie Feldman.  Miller added 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, while the 14 points for Dunham are a season high. The Blue Jays outrebounded the Green Terror 45-31, collected 19 points off turnovers and added 16 second-chance points in the win.
 
Elaina Beckett scored a team-high 16 points and added six rebounds for McDaniel, which also got 10 points and six rebounds from Teya McConnaha.
 
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Saturday, February 15 when the Blue Jays travel to Franklin & Marshall (1 pm).