So, she's not going to concede that allowing No. 14 seed Murray State to cut within five points of the lead in the second half was a good thing for her Duke Blue Devils.

But the evidence is pretty solid.

The No. 3 seed Blue Devils took a 78-57 win over the Racers to move to the second round of the Oklahoma City Regional after a ferocious response to Murray State.

The Blue Devils (24-9) will play Arizona State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

With 17:23 left in the game, Murray State's Amber Guffey nailed a jumper while turning away from the basket to cut Duke's lead to five. Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie had to call a timeout to halt the Racers' momentum. The Devils then went on a 14-2 run to take control of the game.

Wanisha Smith and Chante Black scored 16 and 14, respectively, for Duke.

"You expect those kinds of runs," McCallie said. "We talked about poise -- and that'll be the last time we lose ours. We were doing some silly things defensively. It was a combination of losing our poise on offense and defense, but you have to give credit to Murray State."

Credit certainly was due to the Racers, who made their first NCAA Tournament appearance and didn't let the Devils advance without a battle. Although Murray State (24-8) opened the game shooting less than 20 percent in the first 15 minutes, the Racers mucked up the Devils' offense and got open looks all over the court.

Still, Duke built a seemingly comfortable lead with transition buckets -- the Racers clearly didn't have the athleticism or strength to stop the Blue Devils.

When Murray State's Ashley Hayes (26 points, six 3s) got into a groove, she led the second-half charge. Soon the Racers were within five, and while Duke didn't admit it afterward, the Devils had the look of the hunted instead of the hunter.

"We weren't exactly focused on our defensive matchups," Waner said. "We gave [Hayes] what her strengths are, and she kept hitting and going to that. I mean, it's the tournament, so you expect that, but I think the important thing is how we made our run afterward."

Duke's offense started flowing more smoothly all the way around, including in the halfcourt, where the Devils were showing the rust of a two-week layoff. Duke hadn't played in two weeks since losing 86-73 to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament championship game on March 9.

"You can go as hard as you want [in practice], but it's not the same as game situations," said Duke freshman guard Jasmine Thomas, who had 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists. "We just had to get ourselves together, get back to what we're used to doing and find the right place to execute."

One interesting little twist for the Blue Devils was the unfriendly crowd -- certainly one of the most hostile first-round crowd Duke has ever faced. Maryland fans tailgated between sessions and were back in their seats, clapping along with the Racers' cheers and taunting Waner about the whereabouts of her sister, Emily, who left the team earlier this season.

"We had some good fan support, and at the same time, it was kind of weird getting booed by the Maryland fans," Smith said. "But more power to us."