Washingtonpost news updates: Maryland women vs. Duke: Terps have no trouble getting fired up for rival Blue Devils

Monday, February 6, 2012

Maryland women vs. Duke: Terps have no trouble getting fired up for rival Blue Devils

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Jonathan Newton/WASHINGTON POST - Brenda Frese, guard Brene Moseley and Maryland have lost four of their last five to Duke.

Text SizePrintE-mailReprints By Gene Wang,

The eighth-ranked Maryland women’s basketball team wasn’t 10 minutes removed from an 86-58 victory over Wake Forest on Thursday night when the discussion shifted to No.?5 Duke, the Terrapins’ next opponent and most-loathed rival.

Maryland Coach Brenda Frese kept the message curt and with a tinge of enmity when asked about the Terrapins’ preparation for the team that’s occupying first place in the ACC, one game ahead of Maryland.

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“It’ll be easy,” she said when asked about how she’s motivating her team for its biggest game of the season so far.

Frese’s charges also have a particular distaste for the Blue Devils, who rankle Maryland’s fan base like no other school. It’s indoctrinated from the moment players set foot in College Park, and the upperclassmen make it their responsibility to ensure the younger players embrace that animosity.

The dislike even runs deep into the Terrapins’ extended family, which includes Frese’s son, Tyler. Last season before Maryland’s home game against the Blue Devils, Frese asked Tyler if he knew what day if was. Even though it was Tyler’s birthday, Frese recalled him answering, “You play Duke?”

“It’s just human nature when you come to Maryland,” junior forward Tianna Hawkins (Riverdale Baptist) said shortly after collecting a school-record 24 rebounds against the Demon Deacons. “It’s always Maryland versus Duke, Duke versus Maryland, so I think that’s something we really look forward to. There’s a legacy.”

The series has been one-sided recently, with Duke wining four of the past five, but last season Maryland ended a four-game slide against its nemesis with a 69-47 victory at Comcast Center.

The triumph was perhaps the Terrapins’ shining moment in a season that ended abruptly in the NCAA tournament. It was Maryland’s most lopsided win against Duke since 1993, and it featured a game-high 17 points from center Lynetta Kizer (Potomac, Va.) and 15 points and 10 rebounds from Alyssa Thomas.

Thomas went on to be named ACC rookie of the year, and this season she leads Maryland in scoring and is second in rebounding. Her last game and one half, though, were somewhat ragged by her standards and in line with how the team performed.

On Monday night against visiting Virginia, the Terrapins survived, 68-61, despite 17 turnovers, shooting 59 percent from the free throw line and missing 17 of 27 shots in the second half. Thomas scored six points, matching a season low.

The Terrapins (18-1, 5-1 ACC) didn’t pull away from Wake Forest, which they beat by 21 points last season, until roughly eight minutes remained in the game. The score was tied at 37 at halftime, and Thomas had four points.

In the second half, Thomas scored 12 points and finished with 11 rebounds and seven assists. Maryland played one of its best halves this season overall, shooting 55 percent and committing just six turnovers while limiting Wake Forest to 31 percent shooting, including 1 for 10 from three-point range.

The Terrapins’ upswing comes just in time for their foray to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday. Duke (15-2, 6-0) has won 25 in a row at home against ACC opponents. The last team to beat the Blue Devils at Cameron was Maryland, 76-69, on Feb. 17, 2008.

“It’s just always something that’s been there with Duke,” Thomas said of the rivalry. “I think we really get up for this type of environment that Duke sets up for us. I know we’re going to be ready for that game.”

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