Alison Bales   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 19 2 1-2 0-0 0-0 4 0-4-4 1 1 2 1 TOT 39 8 2-6 0-0 4-5 4 0-8-8 4 1 3 2   Not a great offensive game for Ali, who was swarmed by double-teams throughout the game whenever she held the ball. Considering that Bales burned the Lady Vols 4 times early in the game from the high post with her precision passing, it's no surprise that they started going after her hard. She had the ball ripped out of her hands a couple of times and was also blocked a couple of times. Still, Ali hit several important free throws in the second half and had a crucial finish inside as well. Defensively, she stayed in for 39 minutes against Tennessee's big and deep front line, blocking 4 shots and making players think about many more than that. Bales couldn't neutralize a talent like Parker, but she did force her to take a lot of shots from the perimeter. Parker hit a lot of them, but Duke made her work for her points (23 shots to get 22 points). Carrem Gay   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 13 2 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 0-3-3 0 0 1 2 TOT 27 2 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 1-6-7 0 0 2 5   Carrem did a nice job of slowing Parker down for much of the game, allowing Bales to play off the ball more. With her size & strength disadvantage, she could only hold her off for so long. Still, the impact of her loss when she fouled out could quickly be seen in Duke's trouble to get any rebounds in the last 1:35. Gay wasn't getting many good looks down low and Parker stuffed a couple of her layups, but she never stopped going after boards or playing defense. This game was a real education for her in how to battle deep, aggressive front lines without fouling. Her only huge mistake was her 5th foul considering the time and situation, but at least that was an error of commission. I was a bit surprised that Coach G didn't use Bridgette Mitchell even once to sub for her when she got into deep foul trouble. I realize that Mitchell probably wasn't ready to guard the likes of Parker, but her main skill (rebounding) is one that Duke could have used in this contest. Wanisha Smith   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 11 2 0-1 0-0 2-2 0 0-0-0 0 0 2 0 TOT 26 15 4-7 1-2 6-6 0 0-0-0 0 0 3 1   Smith had a quiet first half, though those late free throws were important in stemming UT's momentum a bit. Nish was clutch in the second half, confidently draining shots all over the court, many with a high degree of difficulty. She struggled a bit in guarding the taller Spencer at times, but she did at least force her into 3-13 from the floor. When all of Duke's guards are hitting shots, it creates opportunities for their teammates. Beyond those jumpers, Nish's foul shooting was incredibly cool--those shots barely disturbed the net for the most part. Nish is a lot better about letting go of bad plays this season than in the past, and the result is a player who's always ready to take a big shot. Abby Waner   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 18 21 8-9 5-5 0-0 1 1-2-3 0 1 4 0 TOT 36 24 9-15 6-9 0-0 3 2-3-5 0 1 5 2   When Abby hit her first long jumper, I knew she was in for a special night if she was able to get good looks at the basket. The more she hit, the longer her shots became. Her second three of the game was my favorite--Cait McMahon was trying to guard her, fell down, and Abby took one dribble and buried the shot. Abby was also scoring on passes from Bales and did a nice job setting up rookie Cheek for a score. When she hit that long bomb in the second half and Summitt started face-guarding her, Waner didn't try to force things, which opened up opportunities for Smith & Harding. Abby did have trouble with Hornbuckle on defense, but Duke's gameplan dictated that they allow her to shoot; to Hornbuckle's credit, she hit a lot of jumpers. Abby stayed with her in the second half, forcing some bad shots and keeping her off the foul line. Lindsey Harding   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 17 7 3-8 0-0 1-1 3 1-2-3 0 1 2 2 TOT 37 21 8-17 1-3 4-4 7 1-2-3 0 2 2 2   Harding has gone from a defensive star to a team catalyst to a scoring machine in Duke's biggest games. She dominated jet-quick Bobbitt at both ends of the floor, using her superior size and strength to get by her or through her at will. Harding kept her in check, limiting her scoring and playmaking opportunities. She hit 4 jumpers, scored on 4 drives and hit the free throws that put the game away. Even when some of her shots didn't drop, Harding knew when to keep shooting and when to find her teammates. This game was every bit as dominant as her showing against Maryland. It's no accident that she's come up big in Duke's two most significant games of the year to date, and one can sense her growing more confident with each one of these tests. Emily Waner   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 6 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2-2 0 0 0 1 TOT 13 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2-2 0 0 1 1   Em had a bad turnover that led to a UT score, which limited her minutes a bit. She did sneak in for a couple of rebounds, but this was clearly a game where Duke needed its starting guards out there as much as possible. Joy Cheek   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 8 4 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 1-0-1 0 0 0 2 TOT 13 4 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 1-1-2 0 0 0 2   Joy was excellent off the bench. She had a crucial tip-in, scored on a pretty cut and did a nice job putting a body on her opponents when she was in the post. She kept things simple and mistake-free, and in a game as intense as this, that's all she needed to do. Impressively, Duke's bench played a combined 35 minutes and had just 1 turnover. Brittany Mitch   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 8 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0-1-1 0 0 0 0 TOT 9 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0-1-1 0 0 0 1   Brit got a number of minutes at the wing, finding Waner for a three. She was outmuscled on the boards down the stretch, but she was cool under pressure when she had the ball with seconds left, zipping the ball to Waner. This was not a high-impact game for her, but the few minutes she played were crucial since Gay was in constant foul trouble. Duke   PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 38 15-26 5-5 3-3 9 6-15-21 1 3 11 8 TOT 74 26-53 8-14 14-15 15 9-26-35 4 4 16 16 UT   PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 27 11-37 2-8 3-6 3 14-5-19 3 3 6 6 TOT 70 26-72 10-22 8-17 14 27-19-46 6 6 11 14 Sorry, no photo gallery for this game. But that does mean no bare-chested Bruce Pearl pix. Copyright © 2007 DWHOOPS.COM (Orin A. Day, Durham, NC, USA.) All Rights Reserved.