Elizabeth Williams

Liz has faced some big challenges as of late, going up against beasts like Cierra Bravard and Sasha Goodlett. Maryland was the ultimate challenge in some respects because of their sheer depth in the post. Tianna Hawkins is a rebounding machine, Alicia DeVaughn is long and a good defender, and Lynetta Kizer is a powerful veteran who can score and rebound. That trio combined for 31 points and 8 rebounds against Duke after coming into the game averaging 29 ppg and 22 rpg. Duke's posts put up 26 points and 11 rebounds, effectively neutralizing Maryland's biggest advantage. Liz was absolutely fearless in attacking the Terps inside, going right at DeVaughn (who sat out much of the first half with foul trouble) and then Kizer. It took a few possessions for her to get going, but she opened the game with 2 foul shots and then ran the floor effortlessly and finished a fast break on a pass from Gray. Later, she drilled a 10' jumper in rhythm, posted up and sank a hook shot, and then posted up Kizer and stuck a turnaround jumper in her face. Late in the half, she sank another short jump shot. She also found Peters for a jumper when she felt a double-team coming. Essentially, no one on Maryland could handle her one-on-one.

The Terps switched tactics in the second half and double- and sometimes triple-teamed her in an effort to get her to turn the ball over and get the ball out of her hands. To her credit, Liz did not turn the ball over once (Duke's posts combined for 0 turnovers). In the second half, she did have trouble finishing against so much pressure, making just a single field goal on the first possession of the second half. However, she had a key pass to Peters for a jumper down the stretch and hit both ends of a one-and-one to essentially salt the game away for Duke. This was a mature performance in a game where not a lot of fouls were called; Williams didn't let the physical nature of the game bother her in the least.

Haley Peters

While Peters' career-high 21 points are a stat worth celebrating, I thought her 0 turnovers were just as important. She was yanked from the Georgia Tech game in large part because she was simply throwing the ball away. Peters doesn't always have to score to be effective; indeed, one of her roles is as a pressure valve for Williams when she's either double-teamed or fronted. So when she's open, she has to hit shots. Peters is at her best in catch and shoot situations and at her worst when she tries to dribble through traffic; Duke did a good job of delivering her the ball in spots where she could score right away and Peters did a great job of judiciously moving with and without the ball to set herself up. Beyond that, Haley's overall intensity and focus were ratcheted way up in this game.

Her first basket was a stickback of a Gray miss. It was a statement play for Duke, showing Maryland that they were going to go hard after offensive rebounds. Haley was otherwise quiet offensively in the first half until about the half way mark, when she dropped in a 10' jumper facing the basket. She put Duke up again with a nifty reverse in traffic, a play she said she's been working on in practice. Later, she sank a 15' jumper and scored on another reverse off a cut on a pass from Gray. She put Duke up by 6 in the first half with a huge three from the wing. In the second half, she scored on a 10' jumper, sank a jump hook from the left block, found Vernerey inside and then nailed back-to-back jumpers to put Duke in control with five minutes left. Maryland was essentially going to concede her jump shot the whole game long for fear of Williams truly going wild inside.

Richa Jackson

Richa had a quietly solid game, providing the off-the-dribble attack that Duke needed to balance its perimeter shooting and inside play. She scored Duke's first points on a drive, taking Alyssa Thomas off the dribble. Later, she finished in transition for a three point play. In the second half, she scored on a pretty reverse. Later, when Duke was trying to fend off a Terp charge, she emerged to score on a scoop shot and then stuck a big 15' jumper. She also quietly gathered in 4 rebounds. I would have perhaps liked to have seen her just a bit more aggressive on the offensive end, and she certainly had no answer for Thomas, but this was other a solid game that provided Duke with the offensive balance it needed so badly.

Tricia Liston

Tricia had a pretty quiet game in terms of offense. In the first half, she had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. That included a beautiful bomb of a pass to Jackson in transition for a three point play and a good entry pass to Williams from the wing for a score. In the second half, Gray found her open for a three that gave Duke its biggest lead at 12. She missed a shot later where her feet weren't set. She grabbed a big rebound down the stretch, only to have it poked out of her hands by Lynetta Kizer for a score. She was benched after that play. Tricia was covered tightly most of the night by the Terps, but she needed to be a bit more aggressive off the dribble.

Chelsea Gray

Chelsea ran the team with aplomb, winning her matchup against a very game Anjale Barrett with a double-double and tremendous leadership. When Maryland needed points late in the game, Barrett demurred. When Duke needed points in the same situations, Chelsea "The Closer" stepped up and made huge shots. Chelsea hunted her shot early in the game as she studied just how Maryland was planning to defend Duke. Using her size and strength advantages over Barrett, she scored on three drives to the basket, including one play where a stutter-step froze her opponent for an easy score. She only scored one more basket the rest of the half and missed several shots, but she had established herself as a player Maryland had to pay attention to. With her shot not falling, Chelsea concentrated on finding her teammates, including a long bomb to Williams, a perfect pass to Peters on a cut, a dish to Peters for three and another bomb of a pass to Vernerey in transition.

She was quiet for most of the second half in terms of shooting, but she carved up the Terps with assists to Williams, Vernerey and Liston (the latter for a big three). With the Terps pulling within 3 with under three minutes to go, Gray uncorked a long three point that doubled Duke's lead. That drive and spin she had late in the game was a killer for Maryland. She put the game away by hitting both ends of a one-and-one, after she helped force an over-and-back call on Maryland. In this game Chelsea truly seized the leadership mantle, just as the team has needed her to do all along against elite competition.