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Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, TX December 28, 2007 |
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Devils Bowl Over Cougars, 84-68
Game Recap by Rob CloughThere were a lot of hits and misses in Duke's win over Houston. There was the usual rust to shake off after a holiday break, and that was especially true with a game on the road. Duke started slowly, plagued the kind of foul trouble that contributed to their three-game losing streak earlier in the year. Just ten minutes into the first half, Duke put the Cougars into the bonus. Worse yet, Abby Waner and Chante Black both went to the bench with two fouls apiece. The Devils also had 5 turnovers during this span, as Houston took a small lead. Frosh Jasmine Thomas and Karima Christmas (a Houston native) helped bring Duke back and take the lead.The turning point in the first half may have been when Wanisha Smith started to assert herself as a playmaker. She attacked the basket and was fouled, tying the game at 22 with two freebies. Then she drove to the basket again for a score. Cougar star Tye Jackson then missed 2 free throws that could have tied the game, which sent Houston into a bit of a funk--they went nearly five minutes without a single point. Smith then hit Carrem Gay for a score after Gay came up with a steal, Keturah Jackson attacked the basket and Thomas scored on a pass from Gay to push Duke's lead to 31-23. Another big positive in this game was the return of Krystal Thomas from a knee injury. Inserted late in the first half, she quickly grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a J.Thomas feed. Houston cut the lead to 6 before Duke closed the half with an 8-0 run. Joy Cheek and Christmas had 4 points each during the run. Duke was in control with a 41-27 lead; only 9 Houston points from the foul line and a couple of early threes was keeping them in range. Duke had a 14-6 run in points off turnovers, 10-5 in second-chance points, and 22-10 in points in the paint. The Devils just needed to play with greater efficiency. Duke kept up the pressure in the second half with 8 straight points; once again, Cheek had half of them, continuing her strong recent play. That's partly because Duke forced 3 straight Houston turnovers. That put them up by 22, and the Devils just cruised from there. The lead hovered in the low-20's for most of the half, but an 11-2 Houston run (fueled by 3 straight threes) cut the lead to 13 with seven minutes left. Duke didn't panic and went inside to Chante Black for a score. J.Thomas came up with a steal and dished to Smith, who was fouled and hit both. That was Houston's last real threat of the game. Duke turned the ball over 4 times in the last two minutes of the game and gave up the last five points, but otherwise did a much better job of reducing their second-half fouls (9, and Duke didn't put Houston into the bonus until 4:14 was left to play). For the game, J.Thomas had 11 points, Black 12 points and Cheek another double-double with 14. Carrem Gay continued her strong recent play with 8 points and 9 boards. Duke won the game thanks to superior rebounding, with an impressive 21 offensive boards, by forcing 20 turnovers, and by getting to the foul line 31 times (and shooting a decent 71%). It was a bit disappointing that Duke took their foot off the gas in the second half, especially when they gave up so many late threes. Still, getting a road win was good for the team's confidence as they near the dawn of ACC play. It was especially good to see Krystal Thomas get some minutes, even if she was more than a little rusty. Christmas had a minor wrist injury in this game, which was why she only wound up with 15 minutes of playing time. |
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