January 2, 1999

Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Michele Van Gorp had 17 points and eight rebounds Saturday afternoon to lead No. 17 Duke past Maryland in Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball action.

Duke (10-4, 2-0 ACC) grabbed an 18-16 lead with 9:54 in the first half and never looked back. Pulling away for a 45-25 lead at the intermission, the Blue Devils got a pair of free throws by Kristin Gingrich with 11:34 to play to command a 69-36 lead and their largest margin of the game. Gingrich scored 13 points and Nicole Erickson scored 12, all on 3-pointers, to lead Duke to its fifth straight victory.

"It feels really good to win here," said Duke coach Gail Goestenkors. "We have struggled here in the past. This was the last chance for our seniors to get a win here."

The victory was Duke's first at Cole Field House in four seasons, and the 90 points scored by the Blue Devils were the most allowed by Maryland in three seasons since Jan. 2, 1996 in a 98-57 loss to NC State. The Terps, meanwhile, scored 60 points or better for the fourth straight game after averaging 48 points and beginning the season 0-8.

Maryland (2-10, 0-3) stayed close for ten minutes, but couldn't defend the inside-outside scoring of Van Gorp and Erickson. Duke shot 52 percent for the game, and outrebounded the Terrapins 48-30 in front of Maryland's largest crowd of the season, 1,365.

Freshman Deedee Warley scored 19 points to lead the Terrapins. Kelley Gibson added 16 and guards Tiffany Brown and March Strickland each had 10.

Maryland travels to No. 22 Virginia next Friday, and No. 6 North Carolina next Sunday.