Please note that it's mostly Rob's night off, so
you'll notice a slightly different format. Rob has written The
Nutshell, below, while I've written a brief Game Recap and
Player-by-Player. -Orin
The Nutshell
Duke won their third straight road game, beating FSU in a contest where
Duke wasn't necessarily at its best in all facets of the game, but still
controlled the action with their tremendous defensive focus. FSU scored
60 points, but 23 of them were second chance points and 19 came off of
turnovers. Their guards fired blanks the whole game as Duke's perimeter
defenders made things difficult for them. Meanwhile, Duke's frontcourt
was sharp on a night when their guards were misfiring. Alison Bales had
an all-around great game with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. Carrem
Gay bounced back from scoring just 2 points against Tennessee with 14, 8 &
3. Once again, Duke got pounded on the offensive boards (16-9), but the
Devils won the overall rebounding battle. The game essentially came down
to two teams whose frontcourts played well, but Duke's superior size and
defensive ability at that end made all the difference.
The Devils spoiled an upset bid by a motivated team, even as they found
it different to summon the same kind of emotional energy they displayed
against Tennessee. Of note in this game, Lindsey Harding became Duke's
all-time leader in assists.
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