The Terps led wire-to-wire against the Blue Devils.
For decades, fans swarmed to College Park to watch Maryland women’s basketball and Duke compete in one of college basketball’s best rivalries.
In the latest chapter of a game that’s now happened just twice since No. 18 Maryland left the ACC, the Terps triumphed on their home floor, taking down the No. 11 Blue Devils, 85-80.
“I had to explain the history to a few of our girls leading up to this game,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “I just loved how they responded. They understood the legacy, the history piece and you could see it was a really proud moment.”
Kaylene Smikle led the way with 23 points, while Shyanne Sellers and Bri McDaniel followed her up with 17 and 15, respectively.
The Terps came out of the gate with an abundance of energy. Sellers broke the seal with a midrange jumper and Maryland got hot immediately, opening up to a 9-0 run.
Duke found its footing eventually, and began to throw off Maryland’s rhythm with a full-court press that allowed it to go on a 7-2 run of its own.
Maryland survived the run without giving up its lead, holding the edge over the Blue Devils on the glass and looking tougher down low. After a quarter, Maryland’s lead was 21-13.
Duke’s press was causing Maryland problems in the first quarter, but it started to really be an issue in the second.
The Terps turned it over seven times in the second frame, most of which came in response to Duke’s pressure. Maryland failed to get the ball in bounds, giving Duke easy points at the rim.
Still, the Terps hit three triples in the quarter to help cancel out their turnover woes. Two of these came from Smikle, who had 10 first-half points.
“We wanted to give them the first punch, and I feel like we did,” Smikle said.
Maryland headed to the locker room still in control, up 40-33.
The Terps quickly got into foul trouble out of halftime. Two of Maryland’s stars — Sellers and Christina Dalce — picked up their third fouls relatively quickly, forcing the Terps to go to their bench.
Luckily for Frese, she had weapons to turn to. Bri McDaniel, who many thought would be in the starting lineup after a strong 2023-24, took over the quarter.
She paced the Terps offense, using her ability to change speeds and hesitate to get downhill and convert easy layups.
“I know my team needed me to be aggressive,” McDaniel said, “I had to keep attacking and getting open looks for everybody.”
Duke still was able to force Maryland into turnovers, but it had trouble scoring easy layups and free throws. As a result, the Terps extended their lead to 65-52 heading into the game’s final 10 minutes.
The Blue Devils didn’t go quietly, though, cutting Maryland’s leads back to single digits early in the fourth quarter. But with Sellers and Smikle back on the court, it was a tall task for the Blue Devils to come back.
Duke couldn’t get the stops it needed, and Maryland continued to get what it wanted in the half court offense.
Three things to know
1. Maryland announced itself. The Terps looked formidable in their first two games, but neither of their opponents were the No. 11 team in the country. Maryland proved its superiority by not only beating Duke, but looking comfortable throughout the game.
2. Terps were more efficient. Maryland was more efficient than Duke in every major category. Terps shot 45.5% from the field, 66.7% from beyond the arc and 79.2% from the line, compared to Duke’s 41.1% from the field, 35.3% from 3-point range and 53.8% on free throws. The disparities from deep and the free throw line were especially stark.
“We clearly had to have that [offensive efficiency] with the amount of turnovers we had,” Frese said. “They had 17 steals so they aggressiveness they played with, we had to be able to counter that in some sort of way.”
3. Terps use advantage on the glass. Heading into the game, Frese said Maryland’s rebounding advantage would be key to securing a victory. The Terps did just that, out-rebounding the Blue Devils, 45-39. They largely have Dalce to thank, who snagged 14 boards despite fighting foul trouble throughout the contest.