Terps up! Maryland women stun Duke, win title

BOSTON — Let the new women's basketball dynasty begin.

A Maryland basketball team with two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior in the starting lineup became the third straight No. 2 seed to win the NCAA tournament championship, beating rival Duke 78-75 in overtime, and a nerveless freshman guard named Kristi Toliver led the way.

Scoring her team's final five points in regulation, including a three-pointer that tied the game with 6.1 seconds to play, Toliver and her swaggering teammates rallied from a 13-point deficit to deny beleaguered Duke coach Gail Goestenkors her first national title.

Maryland (34-4) was among the nation's dominant women's basketball teams in the 1980s. Duke (31-4) has been in a similar position since the dawn of the new millennium.

Between them, though, the two Atlantic Coast Conference rivals never had won a national title until Tuesday, when the Terps stunned the Blue Devils and a sellout crowd at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Duke All-America Monique Currie, who had a game-high 22 points, put her team ahead twice in overtime, only to have the baskets matched by Maryland's only veteran player, junior Shay Doron, one of three Terrapins with a team-high 16 points.

Toliver's two foul shots put Maryland ahead 76-75 with 34 seconds left and, just as importantly, took Duke ballhandler Lindsey Harding out of the game with her fifth foul.

The young Terps already are the odds-on favorite for next year's title. Unlike men's college basketball, the women's game does not lose underclassmen to the pro draft.

In fact, some college players, like Currie, prefer to hang around for a fifth year even though they are likely to be high draft choices in the WNBA. Her motivation was to try to help win a national title for Goestenkors, yet to win the championship with teams many thought should have.

"Even though we have been a successful program without a national championship, I think that would definitely separate us from other good and great programs and put us in that elite class," Currie said.

Maryland's rise from 10-18 three seasons ago has raised questions about coach Brenda Frese's recruiting methods. Recent published reports have said NCAA officials recently visited the Maryland campus to talk with players about recruiting, although there has been no confirmation of an investigation.

"I came into this program to play for the national championship," said Toliver, who had 16 points. "The fact we did it my first year just shows we're capable of reaching our goals."

Maryland had lost 14 straight games to Duke, dating to 2000, until it beat the Blue Devils in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

"The monkey is off our back," Maryland sophomore Crystal Langhorne said of ending the losing streak. "Mentally, that fear against Duke is just gone."

Langhorne, whom her teammates call "The Franchise," had been the most impressive in the NCAA tournament before the final.

In the first five tournament games, she was averaging 24 points (on 72 percent field goal shooting) and 8.4 rebounds.

That is what Goestenkors saw coming when she coached Langhorne on the United States' team that won the Under-19 world championship last summer.

"Crystal would make a great play, and I would be on the sidelines cheering, 'Yea, Crystal,' and then I would be going, 'Oh, my God,' because I knew I had to play against her for three more years," Goestenkors said.

Langhorne was a non-factor in a first half when Duke twice led by 13 points and went into intermission ahead 38-28.

Spending considerable time lost at the high post to get away from the defensive pounding of Alison Bales and Mistie Williams underneath, she took just two shots and managed just four points.

The Blue Devils might have buried Maryland in the first half if they had not missed 10 layups, several by Currie, who nevertheless had 10 points. Her miss after a steal late in the half became a five-point swing when the Terps' Ashleigh Newman followed with a three.

Duke point guard Lindsey Harding, suspended for a violation of team rules last season, was the story of the first half with 13 points and three steals. Duke let Maryland back in the game by getting in foul trouble and committing seven turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the half.

The Terps went on a 24-10 run to cut the lead to 57-56 with 6 ½ minutes to play, as both Currie and Harding sat extended stretches after each got a third foul. Currie got her fourth 15 seconds later.

Goestenkors wasn't surprised at Maryland's moxie.

"No, I've seen it too many times," she said. "Every time they go to overtime, they've won. I just feel utter disappointment for my players and my seniors. It's killing me — not for me, but for my players."

MARYLAND (34-4)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Harper	37	6-14	4-6	4-7	0	4	16
Coleman	36	4-12	2-2	1-14	2	2	10
Langhorne	38	4-6	4-6	2-7	4	4	12
Toliver	43	6-18	2-2	1-3	4	2	16
Doron	36	4-9	6-6	0-3	1	4	16
Newman	17	1-3	1-2	0-0	0	3	4
Carr	3	0-0	0-0	1-1	0	0	0
Perry	15	2-3	0-0	0-2	0	1	4
	225	27-65	19-24	10-42	11	20	78

Percentages: FG .415, FT .792. Three-point goals: 5-14 (Coleman 0-2, Toliver 2-6, Doron 2-4, Newman 1-2). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 0. Turnovers: 16 (Harper 2, Coleman 3, Toliver 3, Doron 4, Newman 2, Perry 2). Steals: 10 (Coleman, Langhorne 2, Toliver 2, Doron 4, Newman).

DUKE (31-4)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Williams	36	1-8	1-3	0-3	3	3	3
Smith	8	0-2	0-0	1-4	0	1	0
Bales	41	7-11	5-6	3-12	1	4	19
Harding	38	6-14	4-5	0-3	1	5	16
Currie	37	7-16	8-9	3-6	4	4	22
Waner	37	1-6	2-3	3-4	4	1	5
Black	13	0-2	0-0	0-3	1	3	0
Foley	15	3-6	2-2	1-1	0	0	10
	225	25-65	22-28	12-41	14	21	75

Percentages: FG .385, FT .786. Three-point goals: 3-11 (Smith 0-1, Harding 0-1, Currie 0-1, Waner 1-3, Foley 2-5). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 5 (Williams 2, Bales 3). Turnovers: 16 (Williams 2, Smith 2, Harding 4, Currie 4, Waner 3, Foley). Steals: 11 (Williams, Smith, Bales, Harding 4, Currie 2, Waner 2).

Maryland	28	42	8	—	78
Duke	38	32	5	—	75

Attendance: 18,642. Officials: Lisa Mattingly, Bob Trammell, Tina Napier. Technical fouls: Maryland-None. Duke-None.