When a basketball game comes down to a last-second shot, a team will often put the ball in the hands of its go-to player, either a proven star or someone who has had a hot shooting night.
If the Maryland women's basketball team appeared confused Friday night when Duke sophomore Jen Scanlon inbounded the ball on the final possession, it was because the Terrapins could not focus their defense on stopping one player. Three Blue Devils -- Scanlon, freshman Kira Orr and senior Nicole Johnson -- seemed strong candidates to take the final shot with the score tied at 60-60.
As it turned out, Scanlon canned a dramatic 15-footer to give Duke a crucial conference victory over the visiting Terps.
Still, Duke's balanced scoring helped make it possible for Scanlon to get a fairly good of a look at the basket.
Johnson, a senior playing her final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds while providing emotional leadership for the Blue Devils throughout the second half. Johnson was particularly instrumental in Duke's first scoring run after halftime, hitting inside shots on back-to-back possessions to cut the Terps' 14-points halftime lead to a 46-42 margin.
"She really wanted to play well," head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "This was the biggest win of her career. She wanted to go out with a win at home."
Despite Johnson's heroics, the Blue Devils trailed by seven points when Orr entered the game with 5:33 remaining. The freshman point guard handled the ball effectively and was able to penetrate the Maryland defense to score six of her eight points in the final three minutes.
"I was happy just to take care of the ball and not turn it over," Orr said. "So that gives me confidence there. I think I've been playing confidently lately."
Goestenkors was confident enough in Orr that the team's first option in the final 10 seconds of the game was for the freshman to drive to the basket coming off a screen from sophomore center Alison Day.
"I thought Kira was going to take it all the way, because that was what she had been doing," Scanlon said.
However, when Orr could not find room to penetrate, she dished the ball off to Scanlon who hit the game-winning jump shot with two seconds remaining.
The way in which Orr and Scanlon drove to the basket in the second half reflected the change in the Blue Devils' offensive mentality at halftime. While the most obvious component of Duke's comeback may have been its switch to a matchup zone defense which neutralized Maryland's potent inside game, the smart and aggressive style of offense which the Blue Devils displayed for the contest's final 20 minutes was critical to the victory.
"We finally just decided to take a deep breath and take care of ourselves and make better passes," Johnson said.
The Blue Devils opened the second half by pushing the ball inside and drawing fouls on Maryland's frontcourt players. Besides being more aggressive in attacking the Terrapins in the paint, Duke's players began to set screens which led the team to find better shots.
"I know we were setting better screens, so we were open," Goestenkors said. "It was much easier to hit the open player. In the first half, we weren't setting and people weren't open, so it was tough to make a good pass because they were covered."
The offensive and defensive adjustments which were made at halftime, coupled with the team's emotional style of play, added up to a 62-60 victory over one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's traditional powers.
"It was exciting because we were put in a tough situation -- we felt we had to win this game," Goestenkors said. "We hadn't been in this situation before. I was anxious to see how the kids would respond."
The Blue Devils responded by not folding under the pressure of a large first-half deficit. In keeping its composure, the team built confidence in its ability to compete with other top teams.
"I think we showed ourselves that if we just play hard and play as a team and rely on each other and that if we all do our jobs, we'll win," Orr said. "If we play together and do the little things right, we'll win and we can be successful in this part of the season."
Goestenkors has emphasized that the team's biggest goal this year has been to make steady improvements. Friday's come-from-behind victory certainly demonstrated a big jump for the Blue Devils.
"This is another step for us," Goestenkors said. "We hadn't beaten Maryland and Maryland is always an elite team. So, to beat them is just another step for us in the right direction."
The win over Maryland and last month's triumph at Clemson have given Duke a shot at making the second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history.
There is no doubt that a gutsy, balanced team win like Friday night's will go a long way towards securing that coveted tournament bid.
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