No. 5 Duke loses to No. 8 Maryland 63-61

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – It had been nearly a year since Duke's previous Atlantic Coast Conference loss, and coach Joanne McCallie didn't feel the need to lament the occasion.

After No. 5 Duke fell to eighth-ranked Maryland 63-61 on Sunday, McCallie was more focused on making sure the loss wouldn't linger longer than a single day.

"We're just trying to get better as a team," she said. "Those kinds of things might be important after the season."

McCallie was more concerned about the fact that Duke got outrebounded 45-36 and allowed the Terrapins to grab 23 boards on the offensive end.

"If we're not going to rebound and really dominate the boards, we're going to have trouble with a lot of teams," McCallie said. "You've got to really get after it. It's a tough world out there. Really physical. We will use this game to improve ourselves as best we can."

Elizabeth Williams scored 19 points and Chelsea Gray had 16 for Duke (22-4, 13-1). The Blue Devils forced 19 turnovers, but they couldn't overcome their deficiency on the glass.

"I don't think it was a matter of them being more physical," Williams said. "We just didn't do the things we need to do. We missed so many box-outs. That really changed the game. Those are things we can control, and we really didn't do that today."

Tianna Hawkins scored 19 points for Maryland (23-4, 10-4), including the tiebreaking basket with 14 seconds left. Laurin Mincy scored 17, Lynetta Kizer had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Allysa Thomas grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked a last-second shot by Haley Peters to secure the victory.

The game drew a crowd of 15,150, eighth largest in school and ACC history.

After a three-point play by Hawkins gave Maryland a 61-59 lead with 43.6 seconds left, Gray tied it with a driving layup. Hawkins then followed a miss by Thomas with a putback, setting the stage for Duke's final possession.

The Blue Devils worked the ball to Peters in the left corner, but Thomas ran over and swatted the potential 3-point shot out of bounds as time expired.

McCallie wanted Gray to take it down the middle, but the lane was clogged, leaving Duke with no choice but to pass the ball outside.

"You have to credit Maryland's defense there," McCallie said.

Duke played its first game without sophomore guard Richa Jackson, who tore a ligament in her left knee on Wednesday and is lost for the season. The depleted Blue Devils got points from only four players in the first half and had just two finish in double figures.

Gray picked up her third foul with 18:49 left and promptly took a seat on the bench with Duke up 30-28. Maryland temporarily forged into the lead, but two straight baskets by Williams put Duke back in front. Soon after Gray returned, a three-point play by teammate Tricia Liston and a follow from Williams made it 45-38 with just under 13 minutes to go.

Thomas then made two free throws and added a 3-pointer to begin a 15-5 spurt that put the Terrapins ahead 53-50 with 5:21 remaining. After Duke cut it to 55-54, Mincy popped a 3-pointer from the right corner before three straight foul shots by Williams got the Blue Devils within a point around the two-minute mark.

Allison Vernerey then hit a jumper to put Duke up 59-58 with 1:48 left, but that would be the Blue Devils' final lead.

Maryland trailed 29-28 at halftime despite getting off to a miserable start, committing 14 turnovers and getting one point from Thomas, who missed all six of her shots from the floor.

Duke wasted no time in quieting the spirited crowd, using 6-for-9 shooting and seven points by Gray to grab a 13-4 lead. Maryland was guilty of nine turnovers in the opening 10 minutes and made only two baskets, both by Hawkins.

Gray's second 3-pointer gave her twice Maryland's total in points (10-5) and upped the Blue Devils' lead to 12. At that point, Duke had six steals and an 11-4 advantage on the boards.

It was 19-9 before Mincy connected from long range to ignite a 15-5 run that brought the Terrapins even at 24. Six of those points came at the foul line.