The Nutshell
After several games featuring dominant player from Lindsey Harding &
Alison Bales, the Devils got a lot of help from the underclassmen against
Virginia in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Abby Waner, finally
looking like her old self after battling an illness for weeks, dropped 24
points on the Hoos, including 5-5 shooting from the three point line. At
one point, Abby & Emily combined for 23 points, leading the entire
Virginia team by two! Three straight threes by the Waners pushed Duke's
lead from 9 to 13, and the Devils fended off several Virginia runs. The
key to the game was holding Virginia star Lyndra Littles to just 2-14
shooting from the field after she had dropped 28 points on Duke in
Charlottesville. Virginia pulled within 10 points to start the second
half but never drew any closer, as Carrem Gay (looking much better after
bruising her shoulder against Maryland) hit some key baskets. Duke's
bench made plenty of contributions, while Wanisha Smith had 8 assists, 9
rebounds and fine defense on both Littles and Zoll.
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