A night after the men's team fought the Terps, the women's team must do
the same against a young but emerging Maryland squad. A year after her
young squad was pounded in the ACC, Brenda Frese has already turned the
program around thanks to her recruiting and player development. Frosh
guards Kalika France (a slasher) and Shay Doron (a shooter) have been as
good as advertised, but it's the improved play of posts Delvonna Oliver
(who lost 30 pounds prior to the season) and Crystal Washington (a career
role player) that has given the Terps a chance to compete with the
nation's best. Throw in talented soph Chrissy Fisher (a post who can hit
threes), ODU transfer Alli Spence (a point who can really shoot) and you
have a squad that has been competitive, even against highly-ranked teams.
The Terps played UNC even for a half on Monday night, and so Duke must be
very carefuly to treat them with respect. One problem for Duke is the
uncertain status of Brittany Hunter. Her knee swelled up on Sunday and
she sat out the game against Virginia (one where she would have been quite
useful). The knee was drained on Monday and she sat out practice. Right
now, it's unclear if she'll need to sit for a bit or if she'll be ready to
play on Thursday (not to mention Saturday). Now would be a good time for
Alison Bales to step up and provide some toughness and defense off the
bench. The other problem is Iciss Tillis' continuing offensive slump. I
think she just needs to see a shot go in near the basket, but regardless,
she needs to play defense and go after rebounds. If she can do that,
everything else will follow.
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