Looking to reassert their defensive prowess, the Blue Devils will welcome another top-10 opponent to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
No. 3 Duke will take on No. 9 Maryland Monday at 7 p.m. one week after suffering its second consecutive home loss of the season because of lackadaisical defense. The Blue Devils allowed Notre Dame and North Carolina to score a combined 177 points in the two losses.
It was the first time in 20 years that Duke lost two consecutive home games and the first time since 2008 that the Blue Devils fell to the Tar Heels at home.
“It’s pretty motivating when you don’t perform at the level you think you’re capable of, especially [with] defense and rebounding,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “We needed to take a break. It turned out to be a snowy break, and then we’ve had terrific [practices] with emphasis on transition defense [and] learning our rotations.”
The Blue Devils (22-3, 9-2 in the ACC) will have to slow down one of the best offensive players in the conference—Maryland senior forward Alyssa Thomas—to get back in their defensive groove.
Thomas—the reigning two-time ACC Player of the Year—averages 18.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game and will try to lead the Terrapins (20-4, 8-3) to victory in the final regular-season matchup between the teams as conference foes.
“They’re a very good team,” McCallie said. “[Thomas] is a terrific player. She’s not one you could ever stop, but it’s important to try to slow her down as much as possible. Shot contesting is very big—I think it’s very, very important that we recognize those shooters [and have] the combination of a great team defense approach on [Thomas] and incredible shot contesting.”
Maryland averages 84.0 points per game because of the players that surround Thomas. Freshman guards Lexie Brown and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough combine to average 19.6 points per game and both shoot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc.
The balanced Terrapin squad—winners of four straight—also has six other players averaging between 13.9 and 23.2 minutes per contest. All of those players average between five and nine points per game.
Maryland’s depth could give the Terrapins an advantage Monday because the Blue Devils have struggled to get bench production since the injuries to senior guards Chelsea Gray and Chloe Wells.
Because freshman Kianna Holland transferred and freshman Rebecca Greenwell is redshirting due to injury, the Blue Devils now have only one true guard—junior Ka’lia Johnson—to bring off the bench.
As a result, senior forward Haley Peters played on the wing for several minutes against North Carolina alongside post players Oderah Chidom and Elizabeth Williams. Duke’s limited options at the guard spot will likely force the Blue Devils to rely more on Peters’ versatility.
“I definitely have a great deal of confidence in Haley at the three spot,” McCallie said. “Oderah has worked her way into more minutes because she’s been very productive and tough on the floor. We’ve got some different combinations. Do we have tons of experience with those yet? No, but hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will gain [it].”
Although Duke is incorporating new lineups, Williams will likely still be counted on to power the Blue Devil offense. The junior center had a career-high 28 points against North Carolina after scoring just 10 points combined in the two previous games.
But Williams and her teammates frequently missed easy paint opportunities against the Tar Heels that seemed to affect Duke’s defense. Nonetheless, the Blue Devils like their chances when they are getting the ball inside—they know they just have to convert more of their opportunities.
“Overall, I’ve loved our paint opportunities,” McCallie said. “I love the fact that we’ve been able to create so much scoring in the paint—that’s terrific. Without question, with a little bit of rest and with more focus on the defensive side of the ball, [we can] allow the offense to come.”
Another factor that could help Duke convert more of its opportunities is the team’s newfound sense of urgency.
“Sadly, in life, sometimes you do become somewhat spoiled,” McCallie said. “We’ve won a lot of games this year. When we lost to Connecticut and Notre Dame, we didn’t take it like we should have taken it. When a team comes into your house and plays very well, and we don’t do much to stop that, that’s a very different feeling. Perhaps that feeling is something we should have had before. Now we certainly have that.”
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