Alison Bales   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 18 8 4-7 0-0 0-1 0 1-4-5 5 0 0 0 TOT 35 18 9-15 0-0 0-1 1 2-10-12 7 1 1 2   To some degree, Ali's relatively modest numbers on offense this season can be attributed to opponents gearing up to stop her. She's faced double-teams, being fronted, being pushed around and has had mixed results in asserting herself or finding others. There have been some games where her long-range shooting gave Duke a huge edge because she took opposing post players outside and opened up passing lanes, but there have been others where she missed point-blank shots because she wasn't in rhythm. Against the Terps, Ali hit her first two shots, which gave her a tremendous amount of confidence. For the rest of the game, whenever Duke needed a bit shot, Bales provided it. She hit two shots to put Duke ahead in the first half, and then took over on defense. The shorter Terps couldn't get anything past her as she swatted shot after shot. Harper, last year's MOP of the Final Four, was held to just 3-11 from the floor against Bales. Her positioning was entirely by design; she didn't go after offensive rebounds so she could run down the court fast enough to set up against Maryland's twin towers. With a near triple-double, this was exactly the kind of performance that Duke needed from Bales in a big game. Carrem Gay   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 16 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0-3-3 2 0 1 1 TOT 29 2 1-3 0-0 0-0 3 2-5-7 2 1 3 3   Carrem was the big question mark in this game: how would she react to the big-game atmosphere, against top-notch competiton? The good news was that Carrem played in plenty of huge games in high school and was used to playing the best. While she started off a bit slow in this game as she had to adjust to the incredible quickness & footwork of Langhorne, she eventually recovered with solid boardwork and shotblocking. The jumper she hit in the second half was the beginning of the end for Maryland but that was only the culmination of the hard work she had displayed throughout the contest. The way she shared the ball showed just how hard this team works to get the best shot when they're at their best. Wanisha Smith   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 18 9 4-8 0-1 1-1 2 0-4-4 0 0 2 1 TOT 32 15 7-12 0-2 1-1 2 0-5-5 0 0 4 3   After a disappointing game against Georgia Tech, Nish had to bring everything she had against the lethal Marissa Coleman. She brought her best effort and then some, dominating Coleman at both ends. It was Smith at her best, attacking the basket, setting up her teammates and even hitting a jumper in stride. She did take a couple of too-quick shots and had the 4 turnovers, but they were mostly harmless errors (other than one leading to Doron scoring). Smith did most of her damage late in the first half as Duke took control, with 7 points and 2 assists in a six minute period that pushed Duke's lead to 9 points. Nish's scoring helped make up for the fact that Abby wasn't hitting much of anything and put more pressure on the Terps to guard every player--exactly the sort of pressure that they usually exert on their opponents. Abby Waner   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 15 3 1-5 0-4 2 3 0-1-1 0 1 0 2 TOT 31 11 3-10 2-9 3-3 7 1-3-4 0 2 1 2   Abby started the game 1-8 from the floor, but was intent on finding other ways to contribute. She had 3 big-time assists in the first half, hitting Harding for a three, Bales inside and Smith for a three point play. She also attacked the basket for a crucial first-half score. It was her steal that led to Gay hitting that big shot in the second half. It was good to see Abby hit a couple of threes late in the game to get her rhythm back. Defensively, she did a nice job of containing Maryland's backcourt and was solid off the ball, as usual. Waner's opportunistic jumping of lanes makes her a perfect complement to Harding's gritty ball pressure, and that combination gets more polished with each passing game. Lindsey Harding   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 20 16 5-10 1-1 5-6 3 0-7-7 0 0 0 1 TOT 39 28 10-21 1-2 7-9 4 1-7-8 0 0 4 2   This was obviously the most spectacular offensive performance of Lindsey's career. Coach G noted that she's had defensive performances that were just as dominant (last season against Tennessee comes to mind), but this is the first time I've seen Lindsey this comfortable calling her own number so often. She actually was close to scoring nearly 40 points but several layups and close shots. Coach G told her to keep attacking until they could stop her, and Maryland never did. Beyond her scoring, her work on the boards was inspiring and part of the starting five's commitment to rebounding--every member of the starters had at least 4 rebounds. I imagine future opponents will try to turn Harding into a jump-shooter as much as possible, so Lindsey has to continue to hit medium and long range jumpers to set up her penetration. In the meantime, Harding did everything right in this game. Joy Cheek   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 3 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0-0 0 0 0 1 TOT 7 0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0-0 0 0 1 2   Joy did a pretty good job on defense, using her power to establish position and force tough shots. Offensively, she missed a good-looking jumper and coughed up the ball once. It was encouraging to see her improve on closing in on the opposing post players as the game went on. Emily Waner   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 7 3 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0-0-0 0 1 0 0 TOT 18 3 1-3 1-3 0-0 2 0-0-0 0 4 1 0   Em has gone from a player struggling to find her identity to a consistent spark off the bench. While that three she hit in the first half was important, it was her defense in the second half that was a subtle but crucial factor in the game's outcome. In particular, the steal she came up with to spark a Harding three point play broke up a Maryland run. Emily still has a lot of room to grow during the rest of the year and can contribute even more. Bridgette Mitchell   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 3 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-0-1 0 0 1 0 TOT 9 4 2-2 0-0 0-0 1 1-0-1 0 0 1 0   This was a great showing for Bridgette. She played to her strengths--quickness, aggressiveness and attacking the basket. What was most impressive was her defense, especially after looking lost in earlier games. This was partly because she wasn't asked to guard perimeter players who headfaked her into jumping out of position. While guarding Langhorne is the tallest of orders, she did a nice job of doubling & trapping. I loved the way she thought quickly in dishing out to Bales for a score and sliding in-between two defenders for a layup. Maryland   PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 30 13-45 2-15 2-3 6 11-17-28 2 1 4 9 TOT 62 28-74 3-18 3-7 11 14-27-41 3 7 14 14 Duke   PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 41 16-33 2-7 7-9 8 2-20-22 7 2 4 6 TOT 81 33-67 4-16 11-14 20 8-33-41 9 8 12 14 Game Photos will be published this evening Copyright © 2006 DWHOOPS.COM (Orin A. Day, Durham, NC, USA.) All Rights Reserved.