Not only did Mikesell pave the way in the Terrapins’ 76-63 win against No. 17 Indiana by setting up her teammates with smooth passing in her strongest game since taking over as the starting point guard in the new year, she showed she can still resemble the three-point-draining Mikesell of old. And just as it was last season, her sophomore classmate, center Shakira Austin, was right there with her.

Austin led four Terps in double figures with 22 points, and Mikesell had 16 points and eight assists in what looked like a flashback to the duo’s snappy freshman year, when they dazzled unprepared defenses with a one-two punch from under the basket and beyond the arc.

Mikesell and Austin, like Maryland (14-4, 5-2 Big Ten) in general, have struggled this year going up against Big Ten defenses that are better equipped to deal with their skill sets. Both players have had to adjust in their second seasons in College Park – Austin into a much more crucial part of the offense and Mikesell into a starting point guard after she primarily played shooting guard last year.

But against the scrappy Hoosiers (14-5, 4-3), who entered Monday coming off back-to-back losses last week to then-No. 22 Iowa and current No. 22 Northwestern, Austin and Mikesell both shined.

Austin shot 6 for 12 from the field and 10 for 13 from the free throw line, leading a Maryland team that shot 48 percent from the field to string together the team’s third strong offensive performance in a row.

Mikesell’s eight assists came with four turnovers, but she shot 6 for 7 from the field and 4 for 5 from three-point range.

Seniors Kaila Charles (12 points, nine rebounds) and Stephanie Jones (12 points) supported their younger teammates after getting Maryland off to a strong start. Following a shaky start to conference play, Coach Brenda Frese’s team has now notched three straight wins, including two against ranked opponents.

Maryland will face another ranked team Sunday – Northwestern – after a Thursday trip to Illinois.

The Terps opened Monday with an 8-0 run on baskets from Charles and Jones and two from senior guard Blair Watson, forcing Indiana into an early timeout. But Maryland let the strong start wither away with four turnovers in the final 2:05 of the first quarter. The Hoosiers stormed back to trail 16-15 heading into the second quarter and then briefly took the lead on Ali Patberg’s three-point play. But the Terps squeezed Indiana on defense, and this time their effort made a bigger difference.

Maryland went on a 12-0 run that gave the Terps their first commanding lead of the game. After Ashley Owusu tied the score with a layup, Jones added another layup after a turnover in the backcourt. Then Jones, Charles and Watson took over, feeding off three smart assists from Mikesell and capitalizing on three more Indiana turnovers in less than three minutes. The run earned Maryland a 28-18 edge, and after Mikesell’s second three-pointer of the night pushed the Terps ahead 34-21 with 5:18 to play in the half, Maryland maintained that 13-point advantage until halftime.

Back-to-back buckets from Austin and Owusu pushed the gap to 17 with 2:15 left in the third quarter. Mikesell made it a clean 20 with her third three of the game, tying her high for a conference game this season. The Terps pushed their lead to 24 midway through the fourth quarter.

Indiana never recovered from its poor second quarter, in which it was outscored 18-6. After hanging with the Terps in the first quarter, the Hoosiers were ultimately outrebounded 40-28. They shot 43.9 percent from the field and made just 1 of 8 threes.

Grace Berger led Indiana with 21 points and Patberg had 15, but they couldn’t prevent Maryland from earning its eighth straight win in the series.