April 3, 2006
BOSTON (AP) - They met twice during the regular season and then again in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Now, Duke and Maryland will settle matters once and for all, this time in the women's national championship game.
The two ACC rivals will meet in Tuesday night's final after Maryland surprised top-ranked North Carolina 81-70 in the Final Four's first all-ACC matchup, then Duke shut down LSU and national player of the year Seimone Augustus in a 64-45 victory.
"The national championship is always about who wants it more," Duke's Mistie Williams said. "It's great that it's an all-ACC championship game. We're just happy to be here."
It's the third time two teams from the same conference have reached the women's championship game. Both previous cases involved Tennessee beating Southeastern Conference rivals - Auburn in 1989 and Georgia in 1996.
Maryland (33-4), in its third Final Four, reached the NCAA Championship game for the first time. Duke's only other appearance in the title game ended with a 62-45 loss to Purdue in 1999. The Blue Devils (31-3) are in the Final Four for the fourth time.
The championship game appearance takes Maryland one more step in a remarkable climb under fourth-year coach Brenda Frese, who was just 10-18 in her first season.
"Coach Frese, from day one, said this team is going to do special things," Maryland freshman Marissa Coleman said. "Now we're the first (Maryland) team in the final game."
Coleman is an example of what Maryland is all about - youth. The Terrapins start two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior.
"They're young, but they don't play like they're young," Duke star Monique Currie said. "They play like they have been playing for years together."
The Terrapins don't hesitate to play up their youth.
"I think that makes us better because we have nothing to lose," Coleman said. "We just go out there and have fun."
Both teams have great balance and a second-team All-American - Currie for Duke, Crystal Langhorne for Maryland. But Duke is deeper and more experienced. Ten Duke players average double figures in minutes and nine average at least 5.6 points.
Maryland has five players averaging in double figures and had four double-figure scorers against North Carolina, Laura Harper leading with 24 and Langhorne adding 23.
Duke also had four double-figure scorers in its semifinal win, led by Williams' 14 points.
Duke won both regular-season ACC games with Maryland, but the Terrapins pulled out a 78-70 win in the semifinals of the conference tournament a month ago. With that victory, Maryland broke a 14-game losing streak to Duke that began in 2001.
The Terrapins held Duke to 36 percent shooting in that game and did a better job against Currie, who scored 18 points but shot just 6-for-17. She had scored 31 on 13-for-21 shooting in Duke's victory in Durham.
"Toward the end of the season, we were being outrebounded and we weren't taking care of the ball," Currie said. "Those two things right there hurt us against Maryland. Since that game, we've been focusing on rebounding and taking care of the ball."
Duke has swept through the NCAA tournament with only one close game, a 63-61 overtime squeaker over Connecticut in the regional final.
"We've come a long way," Duke's Abby Waner said. "We're a much better team now."
Maryland had success going inside to Langhorne and Harper against North Carolina, but they'll face a much more imposing frontline Tuesday night. Duke starts 6-foot-7 Alison Bales and the 6-3 Williams and brings 6-5 Chante Black off the bench.
For sure an ACC team will become the next national champion. The duel inside could determine which of those teams will hoist the trophy.
