Maryland coach Brenda Frese gave birth to twin boys Sunday.
The inside/outside combination of Crystal Langhorne and Kristi Toliver gave birth to a Terps victory.
Maryland is the more talented team and expected to win this game.
The Terps however, needed to win this game to prove to the nation, and themselves, that they are legitimate title contenders.
One would think that with a record of 27-2 there would be no doubt about this team.
Yet there is.
Maryland has played many close games this year against teams with inferior talent, because they still struggle with teams that employ an aggressive, pressing defense.
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From the start of Sunday's game it was apparent that the Terps were intent on getting the ball inside to Langhorne and Laura Harper.
This strategy was very successful for the first 10 minutes of the game.
They built a 14-point lead on the strength of strong interior play from Langhorne and Harper.
The ball movement on offense was excellent.
Then Duke started to press—a 2-1-2 zone trap.
Kristi Toliver started to dribble around in circles like she was a Harlem Globetrotter.
The turnovers began to stack up like rush hour traffic on the Woodrow Wilson bridge.
The formula for beating Maryland is well-known. Play physical defense, especially on Kristi Toliver, pound the boards, and attack the Terp's frontline with your post players.
The Duke press was very effective and largely responsible for producing 24 turnovers by Maryland.
The Blue Devils cut the 14 point deficit to five late in the 2nd half.
They had Toliver frustrated—commiting 12 turnovers.
Then something odd happened.
They stopped pressing.
They committed silly turnovers.
They took wild shots.
Duke allowed Maryland to escape with a well-earned 76-69 victory...and hopefully gave birth to a more confident, determined Terps team that will go deep into the 2008 NCAA tournament.
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