1st Half Recap

After their loss to Duke in the ACC quarterfinals, someone asked Virginia coach Debbie Ryan what it would take to beat Duke. She noted that their potential conquerors would have to be physical with them, or at least match Duke's level of physical play. Ryan also said that it would have to be a very good day for the challenger and a very bad day for Duke. Coach G agreed that this was the way it played out after Duke's 70-65 loss to NC State. While the Wolfpack would lose the next day in an inspired effort against UNC, this win was a huge triumph for a coach defying the odds in the face of a life-threatening illness and for her senior-dominated class. The Pack had not beaten Duke in six years, which happened to be the last time they played for an ACC title.

The two teams played a tight game in Raleigh, which was before coach Kay Yow returned to coach her team. She's amazingly getting treated with weekly chemotherapy for Stage IV breast cancer, yet continues to rise and lead her team.

In the regular season clash, State led Duke early before the Blue Devils made a run late in the first half and pulled away. In this game, Duke took control of the game early and were in a position to really put the Pack away, but left them just enough daylight to make a comeback. The Devils were a bit sloppy with the ball and at other times just suffered from plain old bad luck. Defensively, the Pack hit a number of tough shots, but Duke didn't do quite enough to disrupt them--especially in the second half. The most distressing thing about the game was that NC State played harder than Duke and they were much tougher as well.

The Devils began the game on a 14-2 run that would turn out to be fool's gold. It was spun out of long threes and fast breaks rather than grinding it out in their usual style. When the Pack made some adjustments and those looks dried up, it was hard for Duke to regain their early emotional power. Still, things didn't start to get grim until the last eight minutes of the half, when Duke scored just 3 points and the Pack got very close.

Duke started on a 7-0 run featuring 2 Lindsey Harding free throws, a long Abby Waner three and a steal from Harding that resulted in Wanisha Smith finishing after the two passed the ball back-and-forth. Duke was trying out various zones (looked liked 1-3-1 and 1-2-2) in an effort to stop State from getting the ball inside. Both of State's first two scores came as a result of them lobbing the ball over Alison Bales into 6-7 Gillian Goring. Meanwhile, Harding found Waner for another three and sank a 10' jumper on a dead stop. When Bales sank 2 free throws, Duke was up 14-2 just four minutes into the game.

Their offense sputtered over the next three minutes as Harding missed 2 jumpers and the Devils had back-to-back turnovers that led to State scores. Suddenly, it was 14-8 and the Pack were now looking a lot more comfortable and confident. Waner was hungry for the ball and sank another trey, but State was now getting plenty of open looks from the perimeter and knocking them down because the Devils were forced to collapse on Goring & Khadijah Whittington. Joy Cheek came into the game and scored twice inside to help hold the Pack at bay, but a Goring stickback made it 21-16 at about the ten minute mark.

Wanisha Smith found Bales for a 19' jumper and then Ali grabbed a rebound. Cheek went up and was fouled, hitting both to give Duke a 9-point cushion. Keisha Brown split Duke's defense for a score, but Bales countered with her most aggressive move of the day--putting the ball on the deck and driving right past Goring. Goring then posted up and dished the ball to a cutting Shayla Fields, but Harding sank an 18' jumper that bounced twice on the rim before falling in; and then hit 2 free throws to extend Duke's lead to 11 with eight minutes to go. The Devils wouldn't hit another field goal the rest of the half. Duke had their chances to extend that lead, but Waner turned the ball over; and Bales missed 2 chippies and a jumper while also turning the ball over.

Finally, Whittington hit a shot after many misses. Bales countered with a free throw, but State got into a rhythm as Harding, Bales, Cheek and Brittany Mitch all missed shots. They got within 32-31 with under a minute to go and saw Harding miss a three. The Pack fouled Mitch with 15 seconds left in the half and Brit (not known for her free throw shooting) sank both to give Duke a 34-31 edge. Bales blocked fields going to the basket and preserved that lead. Duke had a 10-5 edge in points off turnovers and were 11-12 from the foul line, which helped them get their lead. Bales had 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks, while A.Waner was 3-3 for 9 points. Harding was just 2-8 from the floor.