Jan. 8, 2006
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - In a matchup between the two highest-scoring teams in NCAA women's basketball, the difference was the defense of No. 2 Duke.
Lindsey Harding and Chante Black each scored 19 points, and the unbeaten Blue Devils forced 24 turnovers in rolling past No. 6 Maryland 86-68 Sunday.
Duke (14-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) built a 17-point halftime lead and cruised to its 13th straight win over the Terrapins. Monique Currie scored 18 for the Blue Devils, off to the second-best start in school history.
Maryland (14-2, 1-1) never got closer than nine points in the second half. It was 68-58 before Duke used a 10-0 run to erase any doubt.
Kristi Toliver and Shay Doron had 12 points apiece for the Terrapins, who fell well below their season average of 87.5 points. Maryland had won 10 straight since its only other loss, 80-75 against top-ranked Tennessee in November.
The game drew 16,097 fans, the second-largest crowd to watch an ACC women's game behind the 17,243 at last year's Duke-Maryland matchup. The Terrapins have hosted the four biggest crowds in conference history, three of them against Duke.
The Blue Devils played the spoiler's role in a 60-49 win last February, and this game was no different. The nation's top-scoring team shot 58 percent, going 19-for-31 in the decisive first half.
Alison Bales, Duke's leading rebounder, picked up her third foul with just more than eight minutes elapsed. The 6-foot-7 center did not return until the second half and finished with seven points and four rebounds.
Even though Bales played only three minutes in the first half, the Blue Devils forced 14 turnovers and got 15 points from Harding in taking a 48-31 lead. Maryland made its first five shots, then went 6-for-19 in falling behind by double-digits for only the second time this season.
Despite committing five turnovers in the opening five minutes, Maryland led 11-10 before Duke went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for good.
After Bales left, the Terrapins closed to 22-20. But Harding scored nine points on 4-for-4 shooting during a 14-3 spurt that made it 36-23. Minutes later, successive baskets by Wanisha Smith increased the margin to 19 points.
