Alison Bales   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 15 0 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 0-3-3 0 0 2 2 TOT 35 12 4-6 0-0 4-6 2 0-12-12 2 0 2 4   Ali shook off a forgettable first half (0-2, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls) and took over the game when it was necessary. Her post scoring and passing carried the team to a big second-half lead, and that included a long jumper, a pass to a cutting Smith, a spin move and 2 free throws. Later in the half, she finished a lob play and had a tough three point play. More importantly, she dominated the boards, holding the Terps to just one possession on many plays. When she was in the game, Duke dominated the boards. When she was out, things were sometimes a bit dicier. Happily, she's played with foul trouble before and knows what to do to avoid fouling out. Bales did not back down defensively despite her foul trouble, but avoided playing defense with her hands and made Maryland work hard against her in order to get open shots. Defensively, Bales added a charge taken to her usual blocked shots. Carrem Gay   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 12 8 4-6 0-0 0-0 0 1-0-1 1 0 0 2 TOT 19 14 7-11 0-0 0-0 1 3-0-3 1 0 2 4   The good news is that Carrem isn't seriously hurt. The better news is tht she played one of the best games of her career. Gay confidently stepped up to take that open 17 ' jumper from the top of the key, had a nice jump-hook, scored on cuts and got stickbacks. Maryland was clearly not prepared for her level of intensity and took a long time to get her under control. At a time when Duke desperately needed someone other than Harding to score, Gay was confident that she could do the job. This is especially heartening considering her poor recent play. She stepped up a bit against BC, and that translated into a brilliant showing against Maryland. As long as she continues to play with confidence and within the framework of the offense, there will be plenty of opportunities for her to score. Wanisha Smith   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 17 5 2-6 1-3 0-0 1 1-2-3 0 0 1 0 TOT 34 7 3-10 1-5 0-0 1 1-6-7 0 1 3 1   After playing brilliantly in the past few games, Nish was far from flawless here. [Note from Orin: Historically, be it Cole or Comcast, this game is never an easy "homecoming" for Duke players from the area.] That brief segment in the second half where she put up several ill-advised attempts earned her the hook from Coach G. What I liked was that she was back quickly--it shows that Nish is contributing more in other ways and has learned to adjust when needed, and that Coach G is showing increased patience with Smith. If this was last year, Smith would have gone to the bench and stayed there til the next game. Instead she came back to record three of Duke's last four defensive rebounds, crucial in keeping Maryland from mounting a cardiac comeback. Nish also hit that early big three, and dominated the action for a couple of minutes in the first half. A couple of offensive rebounds led directly to scores, and her drive to the hoop was a bold one. Abby Waner   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 18 0 0-3 0-3 0-0 4 1-2-3 0 3 2 0 TOT 36 0 0-4 0-4 0-1 4 3-2-5 0 3 3 1   Still recovering from the flu, Abby sucked it up and played a great floor game. She came up with several key steals, rebounded nicely and forced the tempo well. Waner ignited a couple of fast breaks with steals. She couldn't get her feet under her from the field, and she even missed the front end of a one-and-one down the stretch. Fortunately, she has a week to rest and recover; she'll be needed soon. It's still amazing, and a serious measure of how much this team has grown that Duke was able to win when she wasn't at her best and not contributing at the offensive end. Lindsey Harding   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 20 20 9-10 2-2 0-1 1 0-3-3 0 1 0 0 TOT 38 29 12-20 2-3 3-4 1 0-4-4 0 1 1 2   Not much to say about Lindsey's offensive game, other than WOW! I've never seen a Duke player tear another team's offense to shreds like that using the jumper off the dribble. [Orin's note: Perhaps a couple in the rafters at Cameron...but only perhaps.] Lindsey got into a nice rhythm early in the game and the Terps didn't do much to disrupt it. In the second half, she was having more difficulty getting good looks, which made her 9 points all the more impressive. The falling-away shot from the baseline was smart and gutty, but it paled in comparison to her ridiculous scoop shot off the glass. That was in Alana Beard territory. Her last field goal, the jumper with time winding down, was just a microcosm of the game itself: Harding was looking for her shot and knew that she had to rely on it because the Terps were going to sag off on her a bit. The scouting report was 100% correct, and the well-prepared Harding executed the game plan perfectly. Defensively, it should be noted that Harding took 2 early charges and forced Toliver into a 0-assist, 3 turnover, 5-16 ordeal. The best part of this was 0 assists, because when Toliver is moving the ball crisply, the Terps get great shots. Harding attacked the head and the Terps' "body" suffered as a result. Joy Cheek   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 11 2 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 2-0-2 0 1 4 2 TOT 23 4 2-5 0-0 0-0 2 2-2-4 0 2 5 3   Once again, Joy was called on early & often to take the place of Carrem Gay and Alison Bales. Once again, she did a fine job at both ends. Her performance was not mistake-free by any means, but it never lacked for effort. Joy turned the ball over 4 times in the first half alone--some balls dribbled away, another on an offensive foul far from the basket, and another on a travel. She still battled hard against Maryland's tough frontcourt duo, hitting a long jumper and dishing to Harding for a score in the first half. In the second half, she had a daring drive that was the first key big play down the stretch--it was Duke's first field goal in nearly six minutes. She followed that up with a perfect lob pass to Bales for a score. While Joy still makes mistakes, her overall confidence level, ability to handle physical play and brains for the game have made her Duke's most consistent bench player. Her intensity on defense continues to surprise me--she forced 3 jump balls. Bridgette Mitchell   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 2 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-2-3 0 0 1 1 TOT 2 2 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2-2-4 0 1 1 1   Orin's Note: Bridgette's minutes in the official box score (above) appear to be incorrect. We will seek a correction and update when available. Bridgette really made her time on the floor count, showing her usual energy in racking up 4 rebounds. That included a crucial stickback during a period where Duke could not score at all. While I'm not sure it was a great idea for the time/score situation, I did like the fact that she felt confident enough to take a long jumper. Hopefully a week of practice will give her the prep she needs to take on UNC again. Brittany Mitch   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 5 0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-0-0 0 1 0 1 TOT 13 1 0-1 0-1 1-2 0 0-0-0 0 1 0 2   Brit played some key minutes in the second half, providing a calm presence when Waner & Smith needed to rest. Her steal with about eight minutes left was a trigger for Duke's run at the end of the game. It was definitely a welcome change from the first Maryland game, when Coach G didn't think Mitch was ready to compete against a team of the Terps' caliber. While Brit is great handling the ball and playing defense, she still needs to get more confident taking shots. In Duke's offense, she simply can't hide and avoid being a scoring threat. Emily Waner & Keturah Jackson   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT DNP Duke   PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 35 16-31 3-9 0-1 8 7-12-19 1 5 10 8 TOT 69 29-59 3-13 8-13 11 12-29-41 3 9 18 18 UMd   PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 29 13-25 2-7 1-3 7 2-9-11 2 3 9 7 TOT 59 24-58 3-16 6-12 13 11-22-33 2 6 9 18 Sorry, no photo gallery for this game. Copyright © 2007 DWHOOPS.COM (Orin A. Day, Durham, NC, USA.) All Rights Reserved.