Karima Christmas rejects Tianna Hawkins

On the strength of 25 points from Karima Christmas and 17 from Joy Cheek, Duke overcame a young Maryland squad and a 40 hour turnaround for a 71-59 win in Cameron Indoor Stadium today. Duke (23-4, 11-1 ACC) led 32-22 with seven minutes left in the first half but then went ice-cold, losing the lead in the face of an 11-0 Maryland run. A short burst just before the break gave the Devils a 36-33 lead in the locker room, and an early five point trip in the second half seemed to be the point where Duke would pull away. But the Terps battled back, using their range and tough defense to take a 3 point lead with 13:13 left. Duke took a time out and regrouped, getting key scores from Jasmine Thomas and Krystal Thomas to build a working margin that they would never relinquish. "It was a good game for us but we can play better," said Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie. "I think this team is very focused, they're all looking in the same direction, and they're excited by the challenge at hand." On the physical nature of the game, Christmas said, "It's always fun to have a battle and go back and forth at each other. And obviously we work hard in the weight room so it shows off when we can be able to battle with other people." For Maryland (18-9, 5-7 ACC) Lori Bjork scored 14 points on 4-11 shooting (all 3FG) while Lynetta Kizer was a force inside with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Her efforts were a huge part of Maryland outrebounding Duke 44-41, a fact that didn't leave Coach P happy: "We haven't been rebounding pretty well, and we're going to need to change that. So, we've got another opportunity in our next game to try to get that changed around." That next game, Senior Night in Cameron vs. Virginia on Friday (8:30 PM, FSN), will also be an opportunity for Duke to clinch the #1 ACC Tournament seed.