Forward Alyssa Thomas’ career-high 26 points weren’t enough for the No. 8 Terps, who lost, 80-72, at No. 5 Duke. The team faces Virginia Tech tomorrow.

DURHAM, N.C. – For 33 minutes and 27 seconds, the Terrapins women’s basketball team was within reach on Sunday. Even as a frenzied crowd of more than 7,000 in Cameron Indoor Stadium watched Duke build leads as large as 12 points, the Terps held close. For 33 minutes and 27 seconds, the No. 8 Terps were offering the makings of an upset of the No. 5 Blue Devils on their home court.

But it was what happened in those other 6 minutes and 33 seconds that distanced victory from defeat. The team made just one of its first 13 shots to begin the second half, falling behind as Duke broke the game open with a 12-2 run.

“We couldn’t even get a layup there for a while,” forward Alyssa Thomas said after the Terps’ 80-72 loss. “It was frustrating.”

They would cut their deficit to as little as three late in the half, but the early cold streak proved too much to overcome.

“You can’t go for stretches like that on the road and not be able to get scores, especially if you’re not getting stops on the defensive end,” coach Brenda Frese said. “Credit Duke; I thought they were sensational on the offensive end.”

After Frese’s timeout just before the 13-minute mark finally halted Duke’s (16-2, 6-0 ACC) scorching start to the second half, the Terps (18-2, 5-2) began to crawl back. Thomas scored the Terps’ first seven points and 12 overall in the second half, helping to spark a 23-15 run over the next 10 minutes.

A short jumper from center Lynetta Kizer brought the Terps within three points with more than three minutes to play.

“We responded back to them,” said Thomas, who tied a career high with 26 points. “But it still wasn’t enough to get the lead.”

The Terps never got that close again. Two quick baskets by guard Chelsea Gray pushed the Blue Devils’ lead back to six, and the Terps were held without a field goal in the final 2:26.

“We just never could get that edge,” Frese said. “It felt like we were going to get there, but a missed shot here, a bounce here — we weren’t able to make it.”

Sunday’s loss marked just the second time the Terps were outrebounded in a game this season. Though they entered the game ranked second in the nation with an average of 16.6 rebounds per game more than their opponent, they were outrebounded, 41-30, by the Blue Devils — their worst performance on the glass this season.

The Terps lost the only other game in which they were outrebounded, a 12-point loss to Miami on Jan. 12.

“When you look at these stats and you see how fundamentally equal they are until you get to rebounding, that’s telling a lot of the story,” Duke coach Joanne McCallie said. “Rebounding might have been the difference in the game.”

If that’s the case, Frese knows what her team’s agenda will be when the Terps host Virginia Tech tomorrow night.

“It comes down to defense and it comes down to rebounding to win games,” Frese said. “We weren’t very good in either area [Sunday].”

vitale@umdbk.com