Krystal Thomas

Krystal bounced back in a big way from her virtual no-show against Kentucky. Going up against a huge and deep front line, Krystal battled her way to 8 points and 10 boards. She had several key blocks and helped hold Kizer and Hawkins to very poor shooting performances. She was especially effective in the first half, keeping her feet balanced and her hands high as she moved quickly and decisively to the basket. I have long maintained that Krystal has good hands but isn't one to go high for passes. Chelsea Gray in particular delivered a great pass to her from an angle when she was posting up, and Krystal used a simple post move to score. Really, the only areas of concern for her in this game were her turnovers. When Krystal is put in decision-making mode, it puts her in a tough spot, one she's rarely done well in. Krystal is a finisher, not an initiator.

Haley Peters

Haley's toughness has never been in question. It's been her ability to play against elite athletes in physical matchups that's been a concern. She's seemed overwhelmed and hard on herself at times, but instead of moping she worked even harder in practice. By focusing on fundamentals like defense and rebounding, she proved to be more decisive at both ends of the floor. She did a nice job of shrugging off mistakes and battled one of the top rebounding teams in the country to a standstill on the boards, grabbing 9 (including 5 on the offensive end). She hit a couple of jumpers (including a short shot after she missed a three) and also scored going to the basket a couple of times. She didn't take a bad shot and it was encouraging that she continued to shoot even though her three wasn't going down. Defensively, Haley took a charge, blocked a shot and came up with a steal. Getting the call to start was clearly a big deal for her, one that she didn't take lightly. I think McCallie made a good call to keep her in the starting lineup even after she struggled against Kentucky, because it clearly gave Peters confidence. That move certainly paid dividends in this game, and it will be up to Haley to build on this performance.

Karima Christmas

Karima had a drive and assists to each Thomas in the early going but was mostly invisible the rest of the first half. It was obvious that she got an earful about this at halftime, because she came out a lot more aggressive, scoring on the first play of the half and getting to the foul line 7 times. Karima continued to struggle from the perimeter, missing a number of fairly open shots. In fact, Maryland fairly dared her to shoot. Happily, she attacked the basket and did work on the boards when her shot wasn't falling. I think it's obvious at this point that Karima will never be a consistent double-digit scorer. Duke simply has to be prepared for the games where she's not scoring a lot and find ways to help her, and the second half of the Maryland game was one such instance.

Shay Selby

Shay earned her starts this week based on the spark she brought against Temple and her general solid play off the bench. Curiously, she has struggled as a starter. She did take an early charge and had a great pass to Peters for a score, but that's pretty much the sum of her highlights. Her shot wasn't dropping, which does happen, but she simply wasn't all that active defensively either. Don't be surprised to see Gray move back into the starting lineup.

Jasmine Thomas

This was probably her best game of the year. She set the tone early for Duke with 5 quick points and hit a big three later in the second half as part of Duke's comeback. She opened up the second half with 7 quick points, including a couple of steal/runouts. She didn't score again for nearly fourteen minutes--but that score was a three that put the Devils up for good. She followed that shot with an even more difficult attempt with that off-balance runner, then hit free throws down the stretch. Jasmine eased back when she saw other players step up but wasn't afraid to take over down the stretch. Her steely will to win is sometimes obscured by her calm demeanor and after games, but the fact is that Jasmine is simply read to make plays at any time. She claimed that nothing special happens for her down the stretch, that she feels the same way the whole game. That may well be true, and what may be happening is other people getting nervous while she remains her usual relaxed self.