Abby Waner had seen Maryland guard Kristi Toliver shock Duke before.
So when sophomore Jasmine Thomas stepped up to the foul line with Duke nursing a two-point lead and 7.7 seconds remaining, Waner wasn't willing to risk giving Toliver another chance.
"I pulled [Thomas] aside and told her 'Make this free throw, because, trust me, it matters'," Waner said, referring to the 2006 national championship when Toliver forced overtime with an improbable 3-pointer in the waning seconds. "There are certain things that you learn from losses, and I will never take a three-point lead with a few seconds to go for granted."
Thomas made four free throws in the game's last 10 seconds-including two with 1.7 seconds left-and No. 4 Duke used an 11-point halftime lead to beat No. 12 Maryland 68-65 Monday in Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was Duke's second consecutive win over its ACC rival.
Just as Waner expected, Toliver sunk a 3-pointer with four seconds left to pull Maryland (13-3, 1-1 in the ACC) within one point at 66-65. The Blue Devils successfully inbounded the ball and Thomas was fouled immediately. The sophomore point guard stepped to the line for her second one-and-one in six seconds, and she swished both again.
The buzzer sounded before Toliver had the chance to heave a 75-footer, and finally, the Blue Devils (14-1, 2-0) could exhale.
"[Thomas] handled herself really well, and just, again, showed great poise down the stretch," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.
Duke would never have been in the position to win if it didn't play perhaps its best basketball of the season in the first half.
The Blue Devils posted 40 points in the opening period, shooting 43.2 percent from the field and pulling down 10 offensive rebounds. The production in the paint was crucial to the early success, as center Chante Black and forward Joy Cheek combined for 19 points before the break, and finished with 27.
Waner was quiet until she hit three straight jump shots, including two 3-pointers, for eight points in the last four minutes of the half. As the opening period expired, Waner, who finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, called for an isolation against Maryland forward Marissa Coleman. While the play didn't work in the end, it was clear that the senior was displaying a swagger that she hadn't shown in a while.
"It's fun, and we play against each other a lot, so it's not that big of a deal anymore," said Waner of her friendly rivalry with Coleman.
The jabbing did not continue far into the second half, as Coleman left the court with a cramped left leg and missed nine minutes in the second half. Coleman still managed to score 14 points, but the absence of an All-ACC player could not have helped Maryland, which stormed back from a 13-point second half deficit.
The Blue Devils' defense caused the initial hole for the Terrapins, as it held Maryland to just 29 points in the first half and shut down Toliver for the first 28 minutes. The defense was unable to silence Toliver forever, though, as she scored 12 points in the last 12 minutes of the game.
And despite the comeback efforts, fueled by Toliver's last-minute heroics, the Blue Devils were able to hang on to another win against a top-15 team-and the first home victory over Maryland or North Carolina in the McCallie era.
But it won't be the last time Duke plays Maryland this year, and the Blue Devils know that ACC-and possibly NCAA Tournament-success may go through the Terrapins.
"I guess it's a little too early in the season to break the Dukies' hearts," said Toliver, whose comments are bound to be in the Duke players' heads Feb. 22 in College Park, Md.
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