Head coach Brenda Frese slaps hands with forward Alyssa Thomas after Thomas and the Terps easily tackled Wake Forest with a 76-46 victory over Demon Deacons on Jan 9, 2013 at Comcast Center
Six years ago today, the Terrapins women’s basketball beat Duke for the first time at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 2000, a victory that sealed what coach Brenda Frese called “a perfect ending to a perfect day.”
But it was an ending she didn’t experience. The morning of Feb. 17, 2008, she gave birth to her twin sons, Markus and Tyler Thomas, at Howard County General Hospital. Though Frese looks back on that day fondly, she wasn’t on the sidelines for the Terps’ only victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium during her 12-year tenure.
So entering the No. 9 Terps’ final scheduled visit as members of the ACC to No. 3 Duke tonight on Markus and Tyler’s sixth birthday, Frese, like her current players, will be looking to get her first win in Durham, N.C.
“It’s such a difficult place to win,” Frese said. “We’re going back on the boys’ sixth birthday, and they’ll be with us, and it should be a tremendous day.”
Both teams have been historically even head-to-head, with the Blue Devils owning a 40-39 edge over the Terps overall. Kristi Toliver’s game-tying 3-pointer with six seconds remaining in the 2006 national championship remains one of the defining moments of the rivalry. Her step-back jumper forced the game into overtime, in which the Terps sealed the program’s first — and only — national title.
The win capped a significant turnaround for the program. It came three years after Frese’s first game at Duke, a 101-52 loss during a season in which the Terps went 10-18.
“To go full circle like that in four years was phenomenal,” Frese said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Since the Terps’ national title, however, they are 6-11 against Duke, and they have struggled in the intimidating environment of Cameron Indoor Stadium during that span.
Duke’s famous gym was the site of forward Alyssa Thomas’ first career double-double — 11 points and 12 rebounds — in her first conference game, a 71-64 loss three seasons ago.
“It was kind of a wake-up call on just how the ACC was and how tough the teams would be,” Thomas said. “Duke being one of the top teams, just a great way to start your ACC career.”
Though Duke has been without All-America guard Chelsea Gray, who is out for the season after fracturing her right kneecap Jan. 12 against Boston College, the Blue Devils have still been one of the top teams in the conference.
Duke has four other players who average more than 10 points per game and ranks second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage.
“They know what it takes to win,” Thomas said. “They have great players that make plays and make up for the absence of Chelsea Gray.”
With a 2-4 record against Duke, Thomas said past experience will help her lead teammates who are making their first appearance in the rivalry’s last regular-season matchup as ACC members.
“It’s going to be a battle for 40 minutes,” Thomas said. “It’s very physical, tough environment to come in and get a win, so it’s all about staying together and just playing hard.”
Frese and the Terps know that sticking together will be critical to getting their first win at Cameron. With Markus and Tyler’s birthday marking the team’s final matchup at Duke, the Terps hope to cap another memorable day for their coach.
“It will the first and last time that we’ll be able to do this,” Thomas said. “We’re just going in with a mindset of coming in and playing our hardest.”
