For the sixth time in the last 51 games, the Terps will play the Blue Devils. Maryland is 2-3 thus far, with the two wins coming when it mattered - in the postseason. Earlier this year, Duke took us to the woodshed at their place and jumped to the #1 ranking. Now it's our turn to turn the tables.
We currently have a few streaks we need to snap: Regular-season losing streak to Duke, losing in front of big home crowds and of course Duke's season-long winning streak.
No need to break down Duke like the other teams as we should know them better than ourselves so here are the links to their Stats and Roster.
Keys to the Game
Come out with intensity. I don't think this will be an issue with the team having revenge on its mind and the large crowd.
Contain penetration. Harding is going to drive, then drive, then drive some more. She must be stopped. We can't be afraid to take charges.
Watching the back-door cuts. A Wanisha Smith specialty. She runs to the arc then cuts quick for the open pass from Harding or Bales.
Marking up Waner. Whoever is assigned to Waner has to realize she doesn't crash the boards and just sits at the half court line waiting to run in transition.
Stopping transition. Slow them down so the speed doesn't beat our big people down the floor.
Attacking the middle. Yes, Bales is going to block shots, but we can't be afraid of her. Try to draw contact with pumpfakes, etc. to get her in foul trouble.
Pulling Bales out of the middle. Whoever is being guarded by Bales has to force her to play higher than she is used too that way the lane is open more for penetration.
Relaxing on our shots. We have a tendancy to rush our shots because we are scared Duke will block them. They aren't that much taller than us and we can hit our shots in rhythm like we do in other games.
Taking care of the ball. No stupid turnovers.
Aurelie's early minutes. I assume Aurelie will start due to senior day activities so she has to give us quality minutes.
Go out and have fun.
Articles
New York Newsday
Washington Post
Baltimore Sun
ESPN.com
Durham Herald-Sun
Raleigh News&Observer
Duke Chronicle
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