By Rob Clough

Duke held Virginia at arm's length for the entirety of this win. While they were never quite able to blow the game wide open, the Hoos never got closer than 7 points during that last 35 minutes or so of the game. The good news is that Duke got strong performances out of its senior leaders, as Lindsey Harding had 21 points & 4 assists while Alison Bales tallied 11 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. Abby Waner had 12 points that included several key shots, including a jumper at the first half buzzer, a run-killing three early in the second half, and a drive that essentially salted the game away. UVa shot 45% from the field, the second-highest total a team has gotten against Duke this season. Most of that came from relentless forward Lyndra Littles, who scorched Duke for a career-high 28 points--nearly half of her team's total. However, Harding dominated star UVa point guard Sharnee' Zoll, and that matchup made all the difference. Duke didn't get to run very much and turned the ball over when they did attempt it, but their halfcourt execution was excellent--especially using backdoor cuts. Four players were in double figures for Duke, including the aforementioned trio and Wanisha Smith, who had a big second half. Duke also got fine games out of its frosh. While Coach G will be disturbed by her team's execution in the second half (10 turnovers, mostly unforced), her team was always in control and played with a lot of energy. The errors in this game were errors of comission, which are always easier to deal with than a lack of effort. Look for Coach G to talk to her players about fouling; the Devils put UVa on the line early in the second half and played several tentative minutes because of this.