The 2nd Half
Carrem Gay has been going through a bit of a slump lately. The two
quick fouls she picked up early in the first half certainly didn't help
her overcome this. By design, Duke got the ball to her early in the
second half, with A.Waner getting her a nice entry pass that Gay finished
after she sealed off her defender. Bales blocked a shot and then
triggered a break from Lindsey to Nish to Gay for the soft finish.
Debbie Ryan didn't want to start the half down like this, but found her
team in a 14-point hole. After a quick time-out, Virginia started to play
much better. Bales missed a shot and traveled, and Littles scored twice
inside. Siedah Williams scored to bring Virginia within 46-38 with about
five minutes gone by in the half. John Paul Jones Arena ("the John"?) was
starting to rock.
Brittany Mitch came in off the bench and had two key plays. She found
A.Waner coming off a screen for a three, then stole the ball and got it to
Harding. Lindsey responded by sinking a short jumper in transition. Duke
got 2 offensive rebounds on its next possession before Bales drained a 19'
baseline jumper to give her tea its biggest lead at 53-38. The two teams
traded scores over the next six minutes. Littles had 4 points and Zoll
hit an open three. Duke was scoring off cuts and clever passes: Bales hit
Harding on a give-and-go from the high post, Harding alertly found
Mitchell on an inbounds play, and then Gay posted up and passed to a
cutting Harding. With under six minutes to go, A.Waner zipped a pass to
Smith for a three that seemed to be the nail in the coffin.
Harding and Bales subbed out for a couple of minutes, and the Hoos
not-coincidentally made their move. McGuire hit her only 3 of the game
and Littles struck inside twice for a 7-0 UVa run. Bales returned but was
rushing her shots, and UVa took advantage. Harding came back in to settle
things, and Littles only got one shot the rest of the way (which she
missed). Meanwhile, Harding & A.Waner teamed up to take the team home.
Lindsey drove past Zoll for a layup and grabbed the rebound after Sharnee
missed a crucial three. A.Waner then drove baseline and scored to make it
67-56. When Abby got a steal and dished to Nish on a runout, that ade it
69-56. Wright hit a three to bring UVa within 10, but another Bales pass
from the high post this time went to Smith on a layup. It was free throws
all the way down after that, as Duke survived another road team making a
spirited run at them late in the. Duke took their best shot, got off the
mat, and then added a knockout punch of their own.
Duke had 10 second half turnovers (half of them UVa steals), several of
them missed transition opportunities. Duke won the overall rebound battle
and matched UVa on offensive rebounds despite shooting 50%. The game
really boiled down to the fact that Duke had two players UVa couldn't
effectively guard (Bales & Harding), while the Hoos only had one such
player. If the Hoos had only gotten a bit more out of Zoll or Williams,
they really could have made Duke sweat. Instead, they found themselves
exerting enormous amounts of energy trying to catch up. Every time Duke
sensed the Hoos tiring a bit, they jumped on them rope-a-dope style.
This game was yet another victory over an RPI top-60 opponent, a dangerous
breed indeed. Happily, Duke did not take this game lightly. Coming out
and establishing a significant early lead kept the team focused and calm.
Even when the crowd was getting into it, Duke took that time to strengthen
its resolve and continue to execute its game plan. Defense (especially on
the wing) is UVa's main weakness, and Duke made sure to make them try to
move their feet with its passing schemes. Bumps aside, the plan worked to
a "T". Everyone just has to make sure to be ready to score in transition,
which means the right spacing most of the time. Four starters had at
least 2 assists, which shows the team's dedication to sharing the ball.
Hopefully Duke will be able to sharpen its focus while keeping up the
intensity against an athletic Clemson club on Monday.
