The Maryland Terrapins proved on Sunday there’s nothing like a balanced offense, but having a superstar never hurts.

Senior forward Crystal Langhorne had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Terrapins to an 80-66 win over Coppin State in front of 7,580 fans at Comcast Center in the Spokane Region of the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Coming into halftime, we didn’t want this to be our last game,” Maryland forward Marissa Coleman, who finished with 17 points, said. “We knew if we let it be close toward the end, we’d be in for a battle.”

The Eagles kept the game close in the first half, trailing 40-35 at intermission, but their third trip to the NCAA Tournament in the past four years ended with a loss in the first round.

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Coppin State used a 14-0 run in the first half to keep the game close, and pulled to within 43-39 with 17 minutes, 45 seconds remaining. The Terrapins, however, maintained their composure and went on a 12-2 run to take a 55-41 lead and never looked back.

“I credit them for putting us out of our comfort zone in the first half,” Maryland guard Kristi Toliver, who had 13 points as well as a game high seven assists, said. “I credit us for making adjustments and being tough in the second.”

Maryland (31-3) advanced to Tuesday’s second round at Comcast Center, where it will face eighth-seeded Nebraska (21-11), which defeated ninth-seeded Xavier, 61-58, on Sunday.

Senior guard Rashida Suber led Coppin State (22-12) with 25 points, including 13 in the first half, and Shalamar Oakley, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year, added 20, with 17 coming in the first half. But the rest of the Eagles combined for just 21 points, including just five in the first half.

Unlike Coppin State, the Terrapins had a balanced offense with four players scoring at least 13 points. Langhorne and forward Laura Harper, who added 14 points, were too much for the Eagles down low as Maryland outrebounded Coppin State, 42-26.

“They’re gonna wear you down with talent,” Coppin State coach Derek Brown said. “I thought we did a very good job defensively for most of the game. In the second half they really started to get the ball down low, and as you know we don’t have that many numbers.”

The loss ended an 11-game winning streak by the Eagles, who also had won 16 of 17. Coppin State, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion, was trying to become the second 16 seed to upset a top seed in NCAA Tournament history. In 1998, Harvard upset Stanford, 71-67, in the first round.

Maryland advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year, but the Terrapins have made the Sweet 16 only once during the streak, when they won the national championship in 2006. Last year, the Terrapins were upset in the second round by seventh-seeded Ole Miss.

“It’s the start of kind of a new season,” Toliver said. “The postseason is one and done, everybody knows that. I think it’s only natural to have those little jitters.”

avitelli@baltimoreexaminer.com