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GREENSBORO -- Being in the ACC women's tournament semifinals was unfamiliar territory for Florida State and it showed Saturday, especially in the first half. But Duke felt right at home and defeated the Seminoles 75-57 to reach today's finals against Maryland.

It was only the second time the Seminoles had reached the semifinals and they struggled to make shots for the first 20 minutes, hitting only 7-of-24 attempts. The Blue Devils took advantage by building a 22-point halftime lead, withstanding a Florida State run in the second half and closing it out with ease.

"This team is very experienced," said senior guard Abby Waner. "We have three seniors and several juniors and sophomores that have played a lot of minutes. We know how to stop a run and keep on rolling."

The Duke win avenged a mid-season, overtime loss to the Seminoles in Tallahassee. The Blue Devils said they learned from that game and used that knowledge to their fullest advantage.

"We definitely look at films from all our games and look for ways to get better," said Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie. "(In the Florida State game) there was so many areas of betterment it was nauseating."

With Duke (26-4) leading 40-18 to start the second half, Florida Sate went on 16-3 run to pull within 43-34 with 15:40 to remaining in the second half, but the Blue Devils had the answer. Jasmine Thomas hit a short jumper, Abby Waner nailed a 3-pointer and Carren Gay had a basket and the lead was 50-34 with 14:30 to play.

"On that jumper, the shot clock was down to three and the ball was in my hands and I had to make a play," said Thomas, who tied for game-high scoring honors with 14 points. "I'm not trying to take over. I'm just doing what I need to do at that point in the game."

The Blue Devils split two regular season meetings with Maryland, the last one was a 77-59 Terrapins win in College Park. Maryland is the number one-seed and Duke knows it will take a complete game and a complete team effort to walk away with the championship.

"I can't think of anything better than playing Maryland for the ACC championship," Waner said. "That's the great thing about the ACC. It's not just a Duke and Carolina rivalry. I wouldn't say I have a vendetta against Maryland. I want to win a championship and we just happen to be playing Maryland."

Florida State (25-7) had plenty of open looks, but had several shots rattle around the rim and out. Tanae Davis-Cain finally ended a nearly six-minute drought for Florida State with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make the score 30-14.

"We missed shots, and I thought we got great looks, and it dictated what we did on the other end of the court," said Florida State coach. Sue Semrau. "This was a game were we just didn't defend well. When was the last time Duke shot 58 percent from the 3-point line? And we didn't do a lot to shut them down."

DUKE (26-4) -- Gay 6-6 1-1 13, Black 3-11 5-5 11, Waner 3-6 0-0 9, J.Thomas 6-9 0-0 14, Mitchell 3-6 0-0 6, Hopkins 0-0 2-2 2, Selby 0-0 0-0 0, Christmas 4-7 0-0 10, Cheek 3-7 0-0 6, Scheer 0-0 0-2 0, Jackson 0-2 0-0 0, K.Thomas 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 29-56 10-12 75.

FLORIDA STATE (25-7) -- Harvin 3-6 0-0 6, Monroe 3-7 2-2 8, Freshour 4-8 2-3 12, Ward 2-8 0-0 5, Davis-Cain 4-18 2-2 14, Gray 0-1 0-0 0, Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Hunnicutt 1-3 2-2 4, Keough 0-1 0-2 0, Bravard 3-5 2-2 8. Totals 20-59 10-13 57.

Halftime--Duke 40-18. 3-Point Goals--Duke 7-12 (Waner 3-4, Christmas 2-2, J.Thomas 2-4, Cheek 0-1, Mitchell 0-1), Florida St. 7-23 (Davis-Cain 4-11, Freshour 2-4, Ward 1-4, Keough 0-1, Hunnicutt 0-1, Harvin 0-2). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Duke 36 (Gay 9), Florida St. 31 (Ward 6). Assists--Duke 14 (J.Thomas 5), Florida St. 14 (Ward 8). Total Fouls--Duke 17, Florida St. 15. A--11,778.