COLLEGE PARK, Md. — It was a shot that came nine seconds too late.
With 10 seconds left in Duke’s road game with Maryland Sunday night and the Terrapins gunning for the tie, down three with just a few ticks to go, the fans at the Comcast Center held their breath as they hoped for an end to the Blue Devils’ perfect ACC record.
But as Anjale Barrett’s 3-point attempt—a shot that would have likely sent the game to overtime—hit the rim and was rebounded by No. 6 Duke (17-3, 5-0), the only option for the home team was to foul and pray for a rebound off the free throw.
Senior guard Jasmine Thomas, who led the Blue Devils with 20 points, was probably not the best choice to foul, and she made one of two free throws to put the contest out of the Terrapins’ reach.
With Duke up 58-54 and almost no time left on the clock, a 3-pointer by Barrett at the buzzer tightened the score to 58-57. But had the earlier three fallen, this one may have ended on a very different note.
“It was a great basketball game and obviously a very defensive game, and I’m really proud of our fight,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I’m not a big fan of rankings or anything like that. I’m just a fan of playing hard.”
Both team’s coaches highlighted the physicality exhibited on defense during the game and stressed how the match was one which tested how much the teams had grown recently. Terrapin head coach Brenda Frese especially singled out Duke’s Thomas on her 20-point performance.
“Like I told [the players] in the locker room, if that was the No. 6 or No. 7 team in the country, and the team battled and competed for 40 minutes, I’m really proud of them,” Frese said. “[Thomas] did a great job putting her team on her back, which is why we had to adjust our defense. She just really had her way with us and is a special player.”
With strong defense played by both sides, points were kept to a minimum, and Duke led Maryland (14-6, 2-4) by just two at halftime and by a single point at game’s end. The Blue Devils gained momentum in the second period and held an 11-point lead over the Terrapins before the home side caught up and pulled ahead by one with just over three minutes left, 54-53.
Still, Duke was able to recover, and the Blue Devils did not allow another point until Barrett’s meaningless three at the buzzer.
“I passed up a few shots that I thought I should have taken, but they were still there in the second half, so I took them,” said Thomas, who had 13 consecutive points in the second period. “We never relaxed, and we just stayed aggressive.”
The game started off with poor shooting from both ends, and after giving up the first two points of the game, the Blue Devils did not lose their lead until the last minute of the half, when the Terrapins tied the score at 25 before a Duke basket gave the Blue Devils a slim lead.
Duke came out rejuvenated after the break and shot better from all distanes— almost 10 percent better on two-point field goals, 20 percent better on threes and 10 better at the free-throw line.
And with Maryland being the third opponent Duke had faced in the past seven days, it took every ounce of strong will and energy for the Blue Devils to follow through and remain the only undefeated team in the ACC. The loss at the Comcast Center was the Terrapins’ first since losing to Duke nearly two years ago.
“Credit to Duke in the second half, as they just came back stronger. I think their physicality wore us down,” Frese said. “Obviously there’s no moral victory, but I’m proud of how we fought back through a lot of adversity.”
But Frese might have had more than a moral victories to celebrate—if Barrett’s three had come just a few seconds earlier.
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