DURHAM, N.C. — Entering last night’s Terrapins women’s basketball contest at Duke, Brenda Frese spoke with her team about the importance of a game that not only carried historical significance but also provided an opportunity to make a leap onto the national stage.

It was the final time the Terps would face the Blue Devils in ACC play at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where they’ve won only once since Frese took over the program in 2002. That was six years ago yesterday, and Frese wasn’t on the sideline then. She was giving birth to her twin sons.

But last night, the No. 8 Terps had the chance to take down an upper-echelon team before a national television audience in the No. 7 Blue Devils. The Terps already fell this season to the nation’s top two teams — No. 1 Connecticut in November and No. 2 Notre Dame a few weeks ago — and last night could have been a marquee victory entering the final four games of the season.

But after four Blue Devils scored at least 12 points and Frese’s team missed a hail of 3-pointers — going 5-of-21 — the Terps exited Cameron Indoor Stadium for potentially the final time in an 84-63 defeat, still positioned firmly on the outside looking in at the country’s elite teams.

“We talked about that, obviously,” Frese said. “I thought we were a lot more competitive against the top two teams than we were tonight.”

The loss, the Terps’ worst of the season and worst since their 31-point loss to Notre Dame in the 2012 NCAA tournament, left them short of another win against a top-10 opponent.

Despite having arguably the nation’s top player in forward Alyssa Thomas, who came close to yet another triple-double last night with 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and a strong supporting cast, the Terps struggle against top opponents.

The Terps fell to 1-3 on the season against top-10 teams, and in the previous three seasons, the Terps went 3-6 in regular-season games against top-10 teams.

Last night, Frese had one idea of how to make the leap into the upper tier: stopping the team’s road woes. The losses to Connecticut and Notre Dame came at Comcast Center, but those teams are arguably the top two teams in the country by a wide margin. Five of the six losses to top-10 teams in the previous three years came outside College Park.

“That’s an element for us that’s inconsistent,” Frese said. “At times, we’re really good, and then at other times those elements impact us. But it’s continuing to grow as a team.”

Guard Lexie Brown, part of a freshman class that’s contributed to the Terps’ success this season, said the circumstances of the game threw her off, especially after Blue Devils center Elizabeth Williams blocked her first jumpshot of the game.

“It wasn’t as loud as I thought it would be,” Brown said. “But definitely the atmosphere, it was great. It was fun to play in. But I did let the crowd and Duke get in my head a little bit during the game.”

Brown scored 11 points in the first half, but she missed all five of her shots in the second half and made two free throws to finish with 13 points. Guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, another freshman, who entered last night second on the team with 10.8 points per game, scored four points and turned the ball over three times in 19 minutes.

“We’ve got a lot of players, a lot of depth, a lot of talent,” Frese said. “And it’s continuing to grow as a team and learn from each of these moments that we’ve got to be a part of.”

In the ACC tournament, the Terps are likely to run into a highly ranked team like No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 7 Duke, No. 11 North Carolina or No. 14 N.C. State, and most of those teams are likely to have a boost from their fans in Greensboro, N.C., creating a somewhat hostile environment. Then, it will be on to the NCAA tournament, where they could run into a team that travels well in later rounds.

So as the Terps look to ascend to the upper ranks of college basketball this season, it’s clear where that journey starts: on the road.