No. 1 for Maryland

Kristi Toliver erased everything with one shot. The Maryland freshman wiped away the 12 turnovers she committed against North Carolina in the semifinals, and her shaky shooting throughout the first 39 minutes of last night's 78-75 women's national championship victory over Duke before 18,642 at TD Banknorth Garden.

. With her club trailing, 70-67, Toliver calmly took the ball up the court and, with 6.1 seconds left in regulation, coolly swished a 3-pointer from the right wing over Alison Bales, Duke's 6-foot-7-inch shot-blocker extraordinaire to force overtime.

It may well be known as ''The Three" in Maryland lore.

''In my opinion big-time players want the ball in big-time situations," Toliver said. ''So I wanted to take the shot. I just kind of saw an opening and I saw Alison Bales step up. She's very long and I knew if I got it over her, it would feel pretty good. I knew as soon as it left my hands it was going in."

Then she did it again. The point guard, the daughter of the NBA referee, stepped to the line to take two foul shots with 34.2 seconds left in overtime. Duke point guard Lindsey Harding had just collected her fifth foul after a Bales free throw had given the Blue Devils a 1-point advantage. Toliver hit both.

Duke's Abby Waner rimmed out her reply and Marissa Coleman collected the rebound and was fouled. Coleman, the other freshman in Maryland's starting lineup, calmly made her pair and the Terrapins, who once trailed by 13, enjoyed a 3-point cushion.

Jessica Foley had a chance to send the game to a second extra session, but her desperation three was off the mark, sealing Maryland's sixth overtime win this season and first national championship.

''Clearly right now I don't feel very good about how things ended," said Duke All-American Monique Currie, who had come back for a fifth year for a shot at an NCAA title and finished with a game-high 22 points. ''It's a tough loss. I think we tried as hard as we could and we left it out on the floor and that's all that you can really ask for. But it really hurts."

The Terrapins' comeback was remarkable. Maryland ran a ragged first half, one that changed dramatically after the break. With 6:51 left in the second half, Coleman stopped at the foul line. She faked a pass down low, but uncovered, she decided to shoot. It went in. Duke 57, Maryland 56. It was, officially, and for the first time all night, a game.

Less than a minute later, it was tied. Two Shay Doron free throws following Currie's fourth foul brought the score to 58-58. Then, at 5:22, Crystal Langhorne was fouled going up for a layup. She made one free throw and Maryland had its first lead since the 1:45 mark of the first half.

''Our defense in the second half was not nearly as good as it was in the first half," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. ''They were better in the second half. I think they became more comfortable. And they were just better and they hit some tough shots. But they've been hitting those shots all year."

Defense, as it had been against Louisiana State Sunday, was key for the Blue Devils. Both Goestenkors and LSU coach Pokey Chatman had credited Duke's defense with the win in the semifinals. It had been, but it had also been a disastrous offensive game for LSU. In the first half against Maryland it was more of the same. Duke shut down the Terps' inside game, containing both Coleman and Langhorne, who entered last night averaging 24 points per game in the tournament, but took just one shot over the first 20 minutes and finished 4 of 6 from the floor.

In the end, 16 was the sweet number for Maryland as youngster Toliver, Laura Harper, and Doron all finished with 16 points.

But, at the very end, it was Toliver who stepped up and played the hero's role. Her three will always be remembered. The one that brought the championship to Maryland and silenced the naysayers and made the crowd stand up and cheer. It is their title and, especially, it is Toliver's.

So, the question was put to Doron, what's left?

''Repeat."