In the end No. 4 Maryland had just one more run than No. 10 Duke.
Junior forward Marissa Coleman tied her career high with 30 points and junior guard Kristi Toliver scored 21, as Maryland closed out the game on a 17-2 run en route to an 85-70 Monday night in front of 15,531 at Comcast Center. The win, played in front of the fifth largest home crowd in school history, marked Maryland?s first win over Duke in College Park since Jan. 30, 1998.
“This was just a very special win for our team and our program,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “I can?t say enough for this team, for our seniors and our fans what it meant to come out and play the way we did today. I?m very proud how we kept our composure.”
Maryland (20-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) shot just 39.3 percent for the game, but held a major advantage at the free-throw line, where it went 33-of-42, while making 8-of-20 three-point attempts.
Maryland took control in the opening six minutes when senior center Laura Harper scored six of her 13 points as the team jumped out to a 17-4 lead. Duke (13-4, 2-1) then reeled off 10 straight points to pull within 17-14 following three free throws by guard Wanisha Smith with 11:52 left in the first half.
The Terrapins responded with a 14-6 run capped by a basket from Coleman, which gave Maryland a 31-20 lead with 7:17 left in the first half. But Duke pulled within three at 31-28 before Maryland closed out the half on a 12-4 run.
Trailing 43-32 at halftime, Duke came out strong in the second half and pulled within 47-44 with 17:59 remaining following five straight points from guard Jasmine Thomas. Maryland eventually built its lead back up to nine, but the Blue Devils tied the game for the first time since 2-2 at 68, as Smith connected on 1-of-2 free throws with 5:59 remaining. Maryland responded by scoring 13 straight points, beginning with a jumper by senior forward Crystal Langhorne.
“It was a game of runs,” Duke guard Abby Waner said. “We knew they were going to put some runs together like they did in the beginning and it was a matter of us keeping our composure, which we did, except for the last four minutes.”
Langhorne finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. She only needs five points to break Maryland?s all-time women?s basketball career scoring mark of 1,928, set by Vicky Bullett from 1986-89.
