Late Terp Surge Buries Duke, 85-70

Chante Black

Chante's failures in this game were not due to effort or aggression. She grabbed 9 boards and blocked a couple of shots, and mostly managed to stay out of foul trouble. The problem was that in trying to stay active and aggressive, she rushed too many shots. Instead of patiently getting good position on the block and passing the ball back out and reposting, she tried attacking the basket off the dribble--which isn't the strength of her game. She also rushed her jumpers rather than using them to try and stretch Maryland out. Chante probably did rush some shots because she didn't always get a touch in the offense, but she compounded that failure of the team's offense by shooting too quickly. Up to this point, Chante has been Duke's most efficient and consistent player, and the Devils will need this to return for their other big showdown games this season against top frontcourts. Every opponent is going to try to take Black out of the game using a similar formula, and she must be prepared to deal with this and overcome such strategies.

Joy Cheek

Joy really struggled with fouls in this game, which was unfortunate because she was one of the very few for Duke who was getting offensive rebounds and stickbacks. Joy was about the only Duke player getting good position in the post and powering through Maryland's thinner frontline players. The unkindest cut came when she was called for a technical foul right after a tough stickback to start the second half, pushing a Maryland player who was jostling her. That tech fired her up and she quickly scored with an aggressive left-handed hook, but she picked up her fourth foul with 16:26 and Duke down 7. Joy didn't have any impact on the game after that fourth foul. Joy is Duke's most physical player, and must be careful to note how the game is being called as she tries to power up or fight for rebounds. Having her available for thirty minutes or more could have turned the tide for Duke.

Wanisha Smith

Offensively, Nish shook off her early shooting struggles (starting 1-6) and hit a big three late in the half. She also found Waner for a three and Black inside, but that latter hook-up was the only one of the game for that duo. That was a big part of Duke's problems in this game--they weren't able to feed the post from the wing in good scoring position. Maryland did a great job in cutting this off, but neither the guards nor the posts were patient in how they attacked the basket. In the second half, Nish sank a couple of early threes to bring Duke close, and hit another jumper and a couple of foul shots to bring Duke within 3. After she missed that potential go-ahead foul shot, Smith didn't score again the rest of the game. Smith did a reasonable job of sharing the ball (5 assists) and rebounding, but she had no answer for Marissa Coleman. Coleman torched her inside and out, draining threes and hitting pull-up jumpers. The problem was that Smith was pretty much on an island with Coleman, and lacked the size to handle her alone. At the same time, double-teaming Coleman wasn't really an option with Maryland's other scoring threats. Once Coleman got into a scoring rhythm, it was over, because she was hitting tougher and tougher shots. That said, Duke's lack of defensive rotation killed the team, as Coleman also had plenty of wide-open looks.

Abby Waner

As noted in the game report, Abby was alternately brilliant or awful in this game, with little in-between. She kept Duke in the game early on when they fell down by 13, finding Jackson in transition, nailing a beyond-NBA three, and starting up another fast break. She brought Duke within three with a steal & runout for a three point play, showing tremendous enthusiasm. At the same time, she coughed up the ball 4 times trying to force passes. She had much more trouble getting going in the second half, though she did tie the game up at 67 on a great drive. After that, she simply started forcing shots, missing her last 4. The biggest disappointment was her failure to get back up the court after one late sequence where she was bumped trying to go the basket with no call; one could sense her palpable frustration and one could sense that her teammates picked up on this as well. This was truly unfortunate, because Abby had been nothing but non-stop hustle prior to that, with 7 rebounds and 5 steals.

Jasmine Thomas

Jasmine's fearlessness and ability to rise to the occasion were both on display on this game, even with her mistakes. She was especially sharp in the second half, as she scored half the points in an early 10-0 run and later tied the game up at 65 with a drive. Twelve of her 17 points came in the second half, as she took advantage of Maryland's slower guards to get the shots she wanted. Even in the first half, she hit a couple of jumpers to get into a nice rhythm. What Jasmine didn't do was drive to the basket or create much for others. While she certainly wasn't the only Duke player who had this problem, she at times seemed to get caught up in a duel with Kristi Toliver. Still, this was a gutsy performance, and a solid one defensively, for a young player in her first big rivalry game.

Carrem Gay

Carrem had a nightmarish first half with three fouls off the bench, but she had much more of an impact in the second half, finishing two high-low plays. Like Thomas, Gay's rebounding (just 1) was disappointing for a team that needed production off the bench.

Keturah Jackson

Other than a fast break finish, KJ didn't have much of an impact in this game. She was one of five Duke players who picked up multiple fouls in the first half, and this seemed to affect the way she played defense. With Smith struggling against Coleman, KJ had a real opportunity to make her name as a defensive stopper against a high-profile opponent, and she wasn't up to the task. It was clear that she didn't have a good grip on how physical she could be in this game, and she didn't do a very good job adjusting.

Krystal Thomas

Krystal struggled against the veteran Maryland front line, much like Duke's other posts. Her biggest problem was that she had trouble blocking out without fouling, and that included getting tagged with an offensive foul while jockeying for position. To her credit, she did move the ball around nicely, finding Waner near the basket, Gay for a high-low finish, and J.Thomas for a three. I liked the way she operated out of the high post, but I wish her teammates had been able to get her the ball on the block a bit more often.

Karima Christmas

Karima was not efficient during her few minutes, forcing up 2 shots and not getting to the boards. This was unfortunate, because Duke could have desperately used someone to attack the basket.

Bridgette Mitchell

Bridgette committed a foul immediately after missing a shot during her brief stint.

Emily Waner

Brittany Mitch