Allison Vernerey

I thought Alli was an odd choice to start, given her obvious disadvantages going up against Lynetta Kizer. I'm guessing she started because Krystal Thomas had contributed so little on offense against UNC, but Kizer lit Alli up early in the game. When Kizer went to the bench, Vernerey was able to finish a high-low play and get to the foul line. When Kizer came back, Duke went to Krystal to defend her. Look for Alli to get more burn against Georgia Tech, especially if the Devils can get Sasha Goodlett in foul trouble.

Joy Cheek

A typical Cheek performance in that it was jammed with brilliant plays as well as inexplicable ones. She scored Duke's first points on a drive and later started Duke's comeback with a driving three point play. Later in the half, she threw Vernerey a perfect pass from the high post for a score. When Maryland took a five point lead late in the half, Cheek squelched that with a pull-up jumper and dished to J.Thomas for three. Finally, she scored on a gorgeous turnaround jumper and got the foul. Joy also ripped down 3 tough rebounds. In the second half, she was much less of a presence as she also sprayed around some questionable passes. She followed up a gutty drive that gave Duke a 66-63 lead with 1:29 left with a terrible shot with seconds left. Still, there was much more good than bad in this performance, and the Devils desperately need her to become a reliable scorer in the postseason.

Bridgette Mitchell

Bridgette is perhaps the least self-conscious player I've ever seen. No matter how badly she misses a shot or if she gets whistled for multiple fouls and turnovers, she never stops coming. She was a key late in the first half in scoring off the dribble and generating a fast break score on a brilliant deflection. Late in the second half, she put Duke up by 1 with 3:33 left with a free throw and by 1 once again with 2:18 left by draining 2 free throws. She teamed with Christmas to form a defensive wrecking crew; between the two of them, they forced 4 jump balls.

Karima Christmas

Rima is really rounding into form as an increasingly-reliable third scoring option for the Devils. In particular, she's becoming especially tough off the dribble headed toward the basket. Whereas Jasmine was hurting the Terps with her jumper, Rima was hurting them with drive after drive. In the second half, she rose up for a 15' jumper in a play that was unguardable. As noted above, she was also a relentless defensive force and was one of several Devils who managed to play through foul trouble (four players had 4 fouls apiece) while still staying aggressive.

Jasmine Thomas

Jasmine bounced back from an off-shooting game against UNC to torch the Terps with 21 points. When she drained her first shot, it had to be a bit of a relief, though Jasmine has said in the past that she doesn't really care if a shot goes in or not with regard to her confidence. That said, she is undeniably streaky as a shooter, and she happened to be be on in this game. She chopped an 11 point Maryland lead down to 6 with back-to-back jumpers late in the first half and later tied the game at 31 with another three. She helped stake Duke to a lead in the second half with a couple of more jumpers and hit a late jumper to make it 61-57. Oddly, she missed 2 technical foul free throws a week after missing 2 flagrant foul shots; like the late Al McGuire once noted, it seems as though she needs the "picket fence" around her to shoot her best at the foul line. Duke will only go as far as Jasmine takes them, so she must be prepared to be a volume shooter if necessary, but must always be prepared to contribute in other ways: passing, defense, rebounding, etc.

Shay Selby

Shay's been one of my favorite players on this team, because she's found a way to make every minute count. In this game, she threw a perfect pass to Christmas for a score. She dug in for a couple of rebounds. Most importantly, she took a charge at the end of the first half that ended a Maryland scoring threat. Selby has established an identity as the team's leading charge-taker and has shown a willingness to do whatever it takes in however much time she receives.

Krystal Thomas

Krystal's stats may have been modest (5 points, 3 rebounds), but she played a key role in this win. Her long-standing familiarity with Kizer (going back to AAU days) left her as the only player who stood a chance of defending her. A fully-engaged and focused Kizer is a fearsome force, but Krystal used some remarkable footwork to block several of her shots--including a key block with 1:04 left. Krystal also stepped up by making a number of strong moves to the basket in the second half, powering through all the way so as to draw two fouls on Maryland's Tianna Hawkins. Her ability to defend without fouling (just 1) was also important for Duke.

Keturah Jackson

This was not a great game from KJ. She had a season-high 7 turnovers (including 2 offensive fouls) in a rare appearance off the bench. Maryland's top shooter, Lori Bjork, was 4-6 from three. KJ did have an early drive for a score and a three from the wing, but she will need to be in top form to stop Georgia Tech's Alex Montgomery.