Sometimes, teams must reach for ample motivation to get up for a game.
That's not the case tonight for the Blue Devils.
No. 12 Duke (19-6, 8-2 in the ACC) looks to get its revenge against No. 4 Maryland (26-2, 10-1) Sunday night at 5:30 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The last time the two teams met in College Park, Md. on Jan. 14, the Blue Devils had their streak of 18 consecutive conference wins broken and lost to the Terrapins at home for the first time since Jan. 30, 1998. In that game, however, Duke's No. 1 offensive threat, center Chante Black, was hampered by a hyperextended knee that limited her to shooting 2-for-11 from the field.
In recent games, Black has been facing double and triple teams whenever she gets the ball down low, but she does not see this as a negative.
"It's good when they double team because it draws more attention and gets players open," Black said. "So as long as we execute and find the better shot, then things go well."
Luckily for Duke, one of their standby go-to scorers from the outside reemerged in the last game against Clemson. Junior Abby Waner led the team with 15 points, including 12 from behind the arc. Waner's hot hand is coming at just the right time with the Blue Devils' opponents focusing more heavily on Black under the basket.
With Black drawing double-teams down low, Waner has been getting more open looks-she just needs to hit them tonight to take down a top Maryland squad.
Another thing the Blue Devils have been preparing to do is protect the ball. In Wednesday's tilt against the Tigers, Duke committed 25 turnovers, something coach Joanne P. McCallie was not happy about.
"That's troubling," McCallie said. "Twenty-five turnovers and everyone contributed."
In addition to holding onto the ball, the Blue Devils will need to turn out a better defensive effort than the previous time the two teams collided. In that game, Duke allowed Maryland to attempt 42 free throws that they converted into 33 points, both season-highs for the Blue Devils. More recently, however, Duke has corrected this problem. Last time out, they allowed Clemson only half that many chances from the charity stripe.
Coming off such a dominating win has the Blue Devils feeling well prepared. Despite the lopsided final score in the last game against the Terrapins, McCallie is confident in her team's abilities and even was able to draw some positives from the January meeting.
"They are an excellent team," McCallie said. "We did some very good things when we played the first time. We did not do enough good things, and I think [this time] we will just look for the opportunities."
With a strong presence underneath and valid options on the outside, Duke is ready to continue its three-game conference winning streak and looks to move into a tie with Maryland for second place in the competitive ACC. Victories now will only better prepare the Blue Devils for the postseason tournaments, a fact not lost on Waner and the rest of her team.
"Every game at this point is crucial in preparing for the ACCs and NCAA Tournament," Waner said.
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