COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Duke heeded coach Gail Goestenkors'
wakeup call at halftime.
Alana Beard scored 29 of her season-high 33 points in the second
half to lead fifth-ranked Duke past Maryland 75-64 Sunday.
|  | | Maryland's Renneika Razor vies for a loose ball with Duke's Missy West in the first half. |
"There were places where Maryland's defense broke down, and I
was able to find the open spots," Beard said. "Coach said to
attack and we came out and did it."
Beard set a school record for points by a freshman and finished
just four short of the overall mark. The 33 points were the most by
an Atlantic Coast Conference player this season, and the ninth
highest total in Duke history.
Beard scored Duke's only five field goals in the final 11
minutes. In her last five games, Beard has totaled 122 points and
topped 20 four times. She was 10-for-10 from the field and
9-for-10 from the line in the second half.
Georgia Schweitzer, Duke's second leading scorer at 13.4 points
per game, played 33 minutes but was hampered by the flu. She got
Duke's first points of the game, hitting a three-pointer, but did
not score again.
"I was trying to pick it up because Georgia was sick," Beard
said. "She played a great game anyway, but I had to do a little
more."
The Blue Devils (16-1, 4-1) appeared to have broken the game
open late in the first half when Iciss Tillis hit a 3-pointer that
made it 28-19. But they did not score again until LaNedra Brown hit
a shot at the buzzer.
Duke missed five shots and turned the ball over three times
while Maryland rallied to tie it. Brown's basket, and a foul shot,
made it 31-28 at the half.
"This is the second game in a row where we were on the verge of
putting the game away, and then we started making mental errors,"
Goestenkors said. "We had two players in foul trouble, but there's
no excuse for it. We lost our focus. We need to have more of a
killer instinct."
Maryland (10-6, 1-4) trimmed the lead to a single point, but
Beard scored at 19:08 to make it a three-point lead.
The Blue Devils stretched the margin to 51-36 on a basket by
Rometra Craig at 11:26, the last field goal by a Duke player other
than Beard. Craig, also a freshman, finished with 10.
Deedee Warley had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Maryland. Marche
Strickland added 12 points, and Terri Daniels had 11.
|
|
ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
Duke Clubhouse
Maryland Clubhouse
|
