Last year she watched
as No. 2 Connecticut came into Cameron and silenced the Crazies.
This year she scored 17 points to help the Blue Devils upset the Huskies 68-67 and end UConn's 69-game home win streak.
Last year she was on the bench as UNC took Duke into overtime, making the Blue Devils earn their 78-67 victory.
This year she had 14 points and 15 rebounds against the then-No. 11 Tarheels in Duke's 79-57 win.
Last year she sat out while her team's dreams of a national title slipped back yet another year as Duke fell to Tennessee 66-56 in the Final Four.
You could not expect Monique Currie to sit back and watch her team play another tough match Saturday in Cameron. She certainly did not do that. Despite Duke's tight 72-69 loss to No. 2 Tennessee, Currie showed her strength against this week's best in the nation leading Duke with 18 points.
While some players may see playing in big games as a challenge, Currie views them as an adventure.
"Big games are so exciting," Currie said. "I love competition."
Currie's teammates agree that she shines in tough match-ups.
"[Currie is] a gutsy player who goes all out and leaves everything on the court and I think that's what we missed last year," senior point guard Vicki Krapohl said.
"You can expect a great game from Monique," senior All-American Alana Beard said before the Tennessee game. "She's prepared and she's ready."
Getting ready was what Currie had done the entire last season and this pre-season to do. Five seconds into last year's pre-season opener against the Premier Players, Currie went down with a torn ACL in her left knee. Now, after more than a year away from the court that involved reconstructive surgery and months of rehab, Currie is playing a pivotal role in keeping Duke among the country's elite as the season lengthens.
"[Currie] is a player that no one has seen play since freshman year and she's improved so much," sophomore guard Lindsey Harding said.
Since the Washington D.C. native's spectacular freshman season, in which she was named ACC Tournament MVP after scoring 30 points against UNC in the championship game, Currie has had time to reflect on her game and reevaluate her ability that made her such a threat her freshman year.
"I think she learned a great deal sitting on the bench. She'd never been on the bench before. She's been starting and playing major minutes for her team from the first time she picked up a basketball," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I think she learned a lot listening to us as coaches on the bench, to see what we were talking about."
Opposing coaches have recognized the power of Currie's return, even in a lineup that is full of exceptional talent.
"Alana Beard and Iciss Tillis are special, but Monique Currie is the x-factor," Georgia Tech head coach MaChelle Joseph said after Currie scored 14 points to help demolish the Yellow Jackets 77-45. "She's tough, she's aggressive, and she's hard nosed. She never gets high and she never gets low; she just attacks. I think that she makes Duke a much tougher team, defensively and offensively."
While Duke made it to the Final Four last year, Currie could be the key to winning that elusive national championship this year.
"I'm starting to really get into things," Currie said.
If 17 points against COnneCTIcut and 18 against Tennessee are only Currie's beginning, the latter part of the season could be very interesting for the Blue Devils.
"Monique Currie can step up at any time," Goestenkors said. "This year, Currie's time may very well be March."
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