Northwestern’s prolific offense was — prolific — in a 19-9 victory over Mchigan in the Big Ten semifinals at Johns Hopkins. The Wildcats scored 19 goals in the first 46 minutes of the game and cruised to the finish line to set up a meeting with the nation's No. 1 team, Maryland.

Michigan led 4-3 early and after Northwestern scored five straight goals, Molly Garrett scored back-to-back goals to get the Wolverines back within 8-6 with 9:35 in the first half.

Over the next 16 minutes, Northwestern ripped off seven straight goals to take command of the game. Selena Lasota scored three goals during the run and Lindsey McKone had a goal and three assists in the stretch.

Lasota and Lauren Gilbert each scored five goals for Northwestern and McKone had three goals and three assists.

Selena Lasota and Lauren Gilbert each with  goals and @NULax is headed to @bigten championship game after 19-9 win over Michigan. pic.twitter.com/2Gt0Oq46gt

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 4, 2019

Garrett scored six goals for Michigan.

Maryland's 15-8 win over Penn State had big implications for the NCAA tournament picture as the Nittany Lions fell to 8-9 for the season and are no longer in the mix for a bid.

For Maryland, it heads to the Big Ten championship game for the fourth straight year and will look to win its fourth straight title.

Erica Evans, who rewrote Canisius’ record book before coming to Maryland as a graduate student, scored five goals and topped 300 points for her career. In the last four games, Evans has scored 19 goals.

Penn State was never able to solve Maryland senior goalie Megan Taylor, who had 14 saves while allowing just seven goals.

And the bubble teams breathe easier. Penn State falls to 8-9 and is eliminated from NCAA consideration as Megan Taylor makes 14 saves to lead @MarylandWLax past Nittany Lions 15-8 in @bigten semifinal. pic.twitter.com/g0egpyNe6F

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 3, 2019

Big Ten

Semifinal Scores
Maryland 15, Penn State 8
Northwestern 19, Michigan 9

Championship
Sunday: Maryland vs. Northwestern, 12 p.m., Big Ten Network

James Madison and Hofstra Set for CAA Showdown

Reigning national champion James Madison will go for its third straight Colonial Athletic Association championship after routing Elon 16-5 in the semifinals. The Dukes will face Hofstra in a rematch of one of the best games of the regular season, a 9-8 double overtime win by JMU on April 14.

JMU's Maddie McDaniel had four goals and nine draw controls to set the school's single-season draw record with 111. Logan Brennan, Hanna Haven and Daria Lucchesi each had two goals and an assist for the Dukes.

JMU goalie Molly Dougherty made five saves to earn the win, holding Elon to just one second half goal.

Dougherty and Hofstra goalie Jess Smith were outstanding in the regular season battle and Smith comes in to the championship game after tying her career high with 13 saves in an 11-8 victory over Towson.

Jess Smith makes 13 saves as @HofstraWLAX downs Towson 11-8 to head to @CAASports championship game for first time since 2013. pic.twitter.com/TNlkEUk7nj

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 4, 2019

Trailing 4-3 midway through the first half, Hofstra held Towson scoreless for the final 18 minutes of the half and took a 6-4 lead into halftime. The drought felt even longer than they for Towson as the game was delayed due to lightning for over two hours with the scored tied 4-4 with 11 minutes to go in the first half.

Hofstra kept the lead for the remainder of the game, but Towson trailed by just one at 9-8 after Kaitlin Thornton's goal with 6:08 remaining.

Katie Whelan scored just 51 seconds later to give Hofstra some breathing room and Amanda Guerra added an insurance goal with 4:13 left.

Alyssa Parrella led Hofstra with three goals and two assists and Camryn Faith also had three goals. Thornton led Towson with three goals and Shelby Stack had two goals and three assists.

CAA

Semifinal Scores
James Madison 16, Elon 5
Hofstra 11, Towson 8

Championship
Sunday: James Madison vs. Hofstra, 12 p.m., Lax Sport Network