Maryland women’s basketball’s third game of the season provided both nostalgia and clarity.

The contest reignited an old rivalry as the Terps battled Duke for the first time in nearly a decade. The Final Four team that won the 2015 matchup was honored during the second quarter, but the former conference foes had been on hold since that Sweet 16 meeting.

Brenda Frese went from coach to history teacher before Sunday’s game. Most of her players weren’t familiar with the history between Maryland and Duke, a realization Frese joked “dates her” when it became her job to talk with them about what the game would mean.

“They understood the legacy and history piece,” the coach said. “It was a really proud moment.”

The game also answered the most pressing question that faced Maryland entering this season. How long would it take this team full of newcomers — combining their diverse skill sets and backgrounds in hopes of producing a cohesive unit — to get accustomed to each other?

Three games.

With a 85-80 win over No. 11 Duke, the No. 18 Terps stayed unbeaten. Their promise is coming into focus, too.

“These games early, you’re really trying to learn about your team,” Frese said. “There were a lot of questions with a lot of new players. They just continue to show us what they’ve shown in practice.”

Kaylene Smikle, a Rutgers transfer who Frese hoped would be another perimeter scoring threat, led Maryland with 23 points while making all three of her 3-pointers. Villanova transfer Christina Dalce’s 14 rebounds and imposing defense down low kept Duke from finding a rhythm offensively.

Maryland opened the game on a 9-0 run led by Shyanne Sellers, who finished the win with 17 points, and used that early lead to close the first quarter with a 21-13 advantage. An 11-3 run late in the second quarter, this time led by fellow returner Bri McDaniel, pushed the Terps to the break with a seven-point lead.A Duke triple to open the second half cut that lead to four, but Maryland’s lead never got shorter than seven until the final seconds. Maryland converted on two-thirds of its 3-point attempts, while its defense limited Duke to just over 41% shooting from the floor.

“We knew coming into this game we had to bring the intensity,” Smikle said. “There’s so much history in this game. We were all on the same page.”

Eight players saw time on the floor as Frese shortened her rotation. Allie Kubek and VCU transfer Sarah Te-Biasu rounded out the starting lineup, while McDaniel led the bench in minutes and scoring ahead of Arkansas transfer Saylor Poffenbarger and Virginia transplant Mir McClean.

The new-look Terps have now produced three wins by an average margin of more than 23 points. Two of those were against UMBC and Coppin State. But a similar result against a top-ranked perennial contender proved the first two weren’t mirages.

“I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not,” Sellers said. “This is one of the most fearless groups I’ve ever been a part of in my four years here.”

Sunday was the first of a two-game home-and-home series between the former conference rivals. They’ll see each other again at Duke in 2026.

“I’ve been trying to play here since I got the job,” said Blue Devils coach Kara Lawson, an Alexandria, Virginia, native. “I’ll play up this area every year. I was just waiting for somebody to say yes.”

Sunday was just their second meeting since the Terps left the ACC and the first since a Sweet 16 matchup nine years ago, which Maryland won en route to its fifth Final Four appearance in its first year in the Big Ten.

Maryland dominated this once-annual rivalry in the 1990s, then Duke rose to prominence and made three Final Fours in the early 2000s while Frese rebuilt the Terps in her first few seasons. The coach lost her first nine games to the Blue Devils, but the split has evened recently — Maryland has now won four of the last seven meetings.

The latest was the best look at the Terps’ ceiling so far. Last year’s disappointing finish is even further in the rearview.

“We’ve bought into each other,” Sellers said. “I don’t think many people would be able to pull this off with 10 new people on the team.”

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