COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Two and a half minutes into the second half of Duke's first round matchup, the Blue Devils saw their 15-point lead evaporate to just five, with Murray State riding the support of a decidedly anti-Duke crowd at the Comcast Center.
The undersized Racers (24-8), playing in their first NCAA Tournament game, started the second session by scoring nine of the first 11 points and were running circles around the rusty Blue Devils, who played their first game in a fortnight.
After calling a timeout to halt No. 14 seed Murray State's momentum, third-seeded Duke (24-9) responded with a 17-2 run of its own to open a 20-point advantage and regain control of the game en route to a 78-57 win.
It was the Blue Devils' 15th straight first-round victory in the NCAA Tournament.
"At first, it was just a matter of getting the kinks out, just trying to get into a flow," said senior Wanisha Smith, who tallied 16 points to lead the Blue Devils in scoring. "Then we realized what plays were working and we continued to do them."
The leadership of Smith, coupled with a terrific performance by freshman point guard Jasmine Thomas, resulted in one of Duke's statistically finest outputs of the year as each Blue Devil who entered the game scored. Thomas had the second-highest point total with 14 and also added career highs with nine rebounds and six assists.
The entire squad was especially adept at sharing the ball, totaling 20 assists, the team's highest total since playing North Carolina Central Jan. 3. Duke turned the ball over only 13 times even though it entered the contest averaging over 18 giveaways per game.
"We've been working the whole week in practice on making the extra pass, finding the open person," guard Brittany Mitch said. "They were doubling, so we know there was always someone open. We just had to find that person and make the easy pass."
And Duke's ability to create open looks translated into a 48.7-percent shooting night from the floor, well above the Blue Devils' 42.5 percent clip during the regular season and ACC Tournament.
Duke also created offense by dominating the glass. The Blue Devils outrebounded the Racers 48-29, and pulled down 20 offensive boards for a total of 19 second-chance points. Three players-Thomas, forward Joy Cheek and center Chante Black-grabbed at least seven rebounds to help Duke establish an imposing interior presence. The team held a 46-18 advantage in points in the paint.
In a game that essentially lived up to expectation as the Blue Devils led from start to finish, the most notable development of the night was the conversion of numerous Maryland fans into a boisterous Murray State contingent. Throughout the contest, Terrapin fans showered Duke players and cheerleaders with boos, creating a road game-type atmosphere for the Blue Devils.
"It's something that we expected playing at Maryland," Smith said. "But at the same time, it was kind of weird getting booed by the Maryland fans-but more power to us."
And Duke definitely showed the toughness of a top-seeded team in a hostile environment by emerging with a clear victory to send the Blue Devils into the second round of the Tournament.
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