Game 27: Ekud

Another game, another tough-minded defensive team on the horizon. For the third-straight game, Maryland will play a team whose MO is defense first, offense second. The first two games have seen us handle the physical play well and let's hope the third team goes just as well.

This is the second time we play Duke last year and if you recall the first game, we should have won that one too. Marissa was cramping up and Marah was at home battling illness not the same one she battled in December. We lost by 3 and were missing two key contributors. Had we grabbed a few more rebounds the game probably would have went another way.

By my calculations, this game could decide the first three seeds in the tournament. A win by us, locks us into at least the two seed if we win our remaining games as we would own the tiebreaker thanks to our win over FSU. A loss and we drop to the 3 seed and possibly the four seed as Duke would own the tiebreaker. More on this after tomorrow's game.

Record: 22-3 (9-2 ACC)
Non-Conference Common Opponents: -
PPG/OPP: 71.4/55.5
FG%/OPP: .408/.342
3FG%/OPP: .306/.291
FT%/OPP: .683/.642
RPG/OPP: 45.4/36.6
TOs/OPP: 20.0/23.8
Steals/OPP: 13.8/9.5
Blocks/OPP: 5.8/3.0

The Starters
- Chante Black. 6'5 post player who leads the team in points, rebounds, blocks. Can shooter a jumper and has attempted two threes this year (missed both). The offense essentially runs through her at this point. Has fouled out of two games this year.
- Abby Waner. Possibly the last time we will ever see Abby play at Comcast and her career has continually gone down since freshman year. Second on the team in points (9.7), first in steals and assists and three-pointers made. Will help a little on the glass. You never know which Waner will show up - the dead eye or the one who just chucks up shots. She leads the team in steals because she is the one who comes over to help on the trap or lies in wait for the errant pass.
- Jasmine Thomas. Quick point guard. Can shoot the 3 and will do if left open. Great hands and can create turnovers. Not the best shooter.
- Carrem Gay. Lanky forward who is there to help on defense. second on the team in rebounding. Will shoot the 3. second in steals.
- Bridgette Mitchell. Thrust into the starting line up 3 games ago and is the fifth scoring option on the team. Will shoot if open but defers to teammates first.

The Bench
- Joy Cheek. The Muscle down low. very physical player who uses her size to her advantage. Has range on her jumper and will step out and take the 3. Usually gets in foul trouble.
- Karima Christmas. Another one of Duke's defensive pests. Creates turnovers and blocks shots. Shoots 50% from the floor and 40% from behind the arc.
- Keturah Jackson. Heart and soul of the team. Coach G buried her on the bench but Coach P loves her hustle and intensity. Not a great shooter and is in there to create havoc.
- Shay Shelby. Back up guard who doesn't do much.

Keys to the Game
- Control Black. She's long so fronting her will result in lobs over the top. We should play behind her and force her away from the hoop. That way if Duke misses a shot it will be harder for her to rebound.
- Control the glass. Duke has the height so Maryland will have to limit second chance opportunities. We need to go up strong for rebounds.
- Take care of the ball. Duke will want to press and force bad passes to score easy buckets. If we can get a combination of the Rutgers and GT effort I like our chances.
- Don't let Abby get hot. If she catches on fire early we are in trouble. If she misses early, she will get frustrated.
- Watch for the back door cuts. Duke loves to bring the posts high and then have the guards cut underneath for the easy bucket.
- Attack the post. Tennessee did this all night on Monday and it really affected Duke.
- Respect the 3. Unlike GT, Duke has 4 players on the court at all times that can shoot, we can't afford to sag off and leave them wide open.
- Score and score some more. Duke has broken 70 four times in the ACC this year - once was in OT, once against Clemson, Miami and Virginia. I loved the GT strategy of attacking the bucket quickly. I don't think Duke has the offense to keep up with us.

Lastly, The Washington Post is expecting another big crowd tomorrow. Not a sell out, but another big number. I hope it is louder than the men's game was today. And I don't think I need to remind any fans that it is Duke and they are led by the same woman who mocked our IQ last year and doesn't know the names of any of our players. I hope the bullies read her the riot act.