Forward Alyssa Thomas goes up for a shot and is fouled during the second half when the Terps’ 84-63 loss to Duke on Feb. 17, 2014 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
DURHAM, N.C. — As Tricia Liston received the ball with 6:02 remaining in the Terrapins women’s basketball team’s 84-63 loss at Duke on Monday night, Katie Rutan and Alicia DeVaughn rushed toward the Blue Devils forward and tipped her pass.
Forward Alyssa Thomas recovered the loose ball for the Terps and quickly fired a jumper that clanged off the rim. After an offensive rebound, however, the national player of the year candidate had another chance to cut into the worrying 67-54 deficit. But her runner fell short of the basket and dribbled out of bounds.
Though they created opportunities to claw back in their final scheduled game against Duke, the Terps’ poor shooting resulted in another defeat at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where they haven’t won since 2008.
“Obviously, when you score 63 points on the road, you’re not going to win a lot of games,” coach Brenda Frese said.
The No. 8 Terps shot a dismal 32.4 percent from the field, well below their 48.2-percent average this season, and went 3-of-15 in the contest’s final six minutes.
Despite their struggles to make baskets, the Terps kept the game close in the first half. Duke had only one free-throw attempt in the opening period, and the Terps’ 10 offensive rebounds limited the Blue Devils’ offensive possessions and led to 10 second-chance points. They couldn’t contain Duke’s offense in the second half, though, and as their shots still weren’t falling, the deficit grew.
The Terps missed four field goal attempts during an 11-0 Blue Devils run that made it 64-48 with 8:17 remaining. The deficit forced the Terps to switch to a full-court press, resulting in five steals in the final 7:30. But they failed to capitalize on a chance to build momentum from Duke’s unusually sloppy play.
“Typically, they haven’t shown that they turn the ball over like they did tonight, so that was kind of a surprise,” Frese said. “You’re always going to second-guess that when you see the success that we had.”
The Terps struggled to find their rhythm from three-point range, going 5-for-21 in the matchup. Guard Lexie Brown was their leading scorer entering halftime with 11 points. The sharpshooter had a smaller offensive role after the break, though, going 0-of-5 in the final 20 minutes. In addition, the team’s bench, usually a reliable scoring unit, had only 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting.
“I was just trying to get more people involved in the offense, which I probably shouldn’t have done considering how we were shooting,” Brown said.
The Terps’ low bench scoring was costly against an experienced Duke starting unit that accounted for 73 points in the game. Along with guard Alexis Jones’ 22 points, senior guard Richa Jackson and junior center Elizabeth Williams scored 19 and 17 points, respectively.
“Credit Duke. I thought they were tremendous tonight,” Frese said. “They played with a lot of energy, a lot of poise. I thought they showed their experience, and they were really consistent through the night.”
After struggling to get free throws in the first period, Duke was 15-of-20 from the line in the second half, while the Terps shot 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
The Terps’ tough night offensively ruined a chance to win in an environment where they’ve struggled in the past six years. With postseason play looming, there is still a chance to face Duke again, but the Terps have to focus on improving their offense before considering their chances of a rematch against their ACC rival.
“We’ve had a lot of battles with them, home and away. It’s always fun to play against them because you know it’s going to be a great game,” Thomas said. “Definitely going to miss seeing Maryland and Duke play, but I’m sure they’ll meet up again.”
