Seminoles No Match For Duke, 70-38

Game Recap by Rob Clough

Of course, no one could have foreseen FSU's stunning inability to put the ball in the basket. It's one thing to miss jump shots (they were 3-16 from three, and didn't hit their first trey until the 7:28 mark of the second half when they were down by nearly 30), but it's quite another to miss free throws. Not only did they go an execrable 5-20 from the foul line, but several of those attempts were front ends of one-and-ones. In the first half, Duke was able to pull away because they missed 9 foul shots. That helped turn a narrow 6-point lead into an 18-point cushion in the last five minutes of the half. On Duke's part, they couldn't connect on any jumpers, and were in danger of having their 97-game streak of hitting at least one three snapped. However, Duke used its superior size, greater depth and a high degree of energy on defense to prevent FSU from making shorter shots as well.

One of the key match-ups in this game was Chante Black going up against FSU's sole post player, Jacinta Monroe. Monroe's game is actually built a lot like Black's: she's slender, quick and athletic, and can hit the short jumper. Black made it her mission to immediately dominate, scoring 10 of Duke's first 12 points. Jasmine Thomas actually hit the first shot of the game, sinking a 17' jumper after Wanisha Smith penetrated and passed it to her. Nish then found Chante in transition, and Black finished strong. Monroe isn't used to playing against opponents who are as quick as she is, and she missed her next shot after Chante matched her move-for-move. Abby Waner then found Chante inside to make it 6-2.

Waner then fouled FSU guard Mara Freshour from beyond the three point line as the shot clock was running down, but Freshour only hit 2 freebies. Black then collected her own miss for a stickback, then stuck a hook shot right in Monroe's face to give Duke a 10-4 edge five minutes into the game. FSU then got a couple of scores from its bench, as Antionette Howard and Christian Hunnicutt both scored near the basket to cut Duke's lead to 2. Black then corralled a miss from Waner and got another stickback, but FSU grabbed another offensive rebound and scored to make it 12-10. Duke was missing a lot of open shots; indeed, Black had 10 points and the rest of the team was shooting just 1-9. FSU kept it close, but it was clear that they were expending an enormous amount of energy to do so.

Karima Christmas came in off the bench and picked up a loose ball and scored to make it 14-10. After a missed layup by Shante Williams, Jasmine rocketed a pass in transition to Krystal Thomas who scored as she was fouled with great force. She showed an enormous amount of strength to carry her defender with her. Up to this point, Duke was playing halfcourt man-to-man defense. After a Black free throw, they started to press and trap full court, and this move paid dividends quickly. Waner got a steal and set up a 3-on-1 that saw Black dish off a pretty touch pass to Joy Cheek for the finish. That steal came after FSU broke Duke's press and was heading to the basket; Waner made a beautiful recovery to spark Duke. After two missed FSU free throws, Keturah Jackson and sank a short jumper to make it 21-11. Duke rushed things a bit and FSU responded with a nice drive by Howard (who faked her defender out) and a stickback.

Black demanded the ball and hit a tough hook to restore order for Duke. Howard hit a shot that crawled over the rim to make it 24-17 with 4:20 to go. That's when the bottom really fell out for FSU, as Duke finished the half on a 12-1 run. It began with a Black stickback of a Christmas miss. Joy Cheek then hit 2 free throws to return Duke's lead to double figures at 28-18. Jackson then crumpled to the floor holding her knee and was helped to the locker room. Off the bench sprang Bridgette Mitchell, whose playing time has been reduced of late.

In a Thursday press conference, Coach P noted that the days of a 12-player rotation are pretty much over, and that players 10-12 shouldn't expect to see much action. Bridgette came into the game cold and was dominant in her four minutes. She first finished on a nice pass from Waner. After Waner scored on a nifty driving reverse layup, Courtney Ward missed the front end of a one-and-one. Waner missed a three, but Mitchell was there for the stickback. Bridgette then drove to the hoop, missed, and scored on her own rebound. She then secured the final rebound of the half after a long missed three by Ward.

For the half, Duke was +8 on the boards but FSU had 9 offensive rebounds to Duke's 8. The Noles were 4-13 from the foul line and shot 21%. They also turned the ball over 11 times and their starters looked visibly fatigued. Monroe picked up 2 fouls trying to guard Black and was completely shut down by Chante. For the half, Chante piled up 15 points and grabbed 7 boards to lead her team.

Duke was sloppy to start the second half, with 2 turnovers and 3 missed layups that should have been easy scores. Abby finally broke that string with a free throw, then delivered a pass to Black, who broke off a no-look pass back to Jasmine, who sank a 10' jumper. That was part of a 7-0 run that officially broke the game open. Gay then came up with a steal and passed to Waner, who switched hands to freeze her defender and then glided to the basket for a score. After another FSU miss, Thomas passed to Carrem Gay (in for Cheek, who had picked up her 3rd foul), who had her opponent sealed on her hip. She spun in for the easy score to make it 43-19.

The next nine minutes saw Duke slowly stretch their lead as FSU had to scratch and claw for every point. Duke kept pounding away inside, as Krystal Thomas and Gay scored in the paint. Waner then dished to Black for a short jumper and then found Chante in transition to make it 55-25 with 7:45 left. Ward hit FSU's first three of the game shortly after that, but it was too little, too late. Christmas scored after a steal and Mitchell had another stickback to keep Duke's lead near 30. Jackson came back into the game after she was okayed by the doctors to score on a steal & layup. Emily Waner provided Duke's final points and their only trey of the game, extending Duke's streak to 97 straight games with a three.

Duke's trapping unnerved FSU to an enormous degree. Coach Sue Semrau said that she knew and her team knew the trap was coming, but they did a horrendous job in preparing for it. For the game, Duke forced 25 turnovers and an incredible 19 of them were steals. The Devils converted this into 24 points, which was not nearly as efficient as they could have been. FSU turned Duke over 18 times but only scored 5 points from Duke's miscues. The Devils did a much better job rebounding in the second half, going +12 for the game. What was most impressive was the performance of the bench, which had "great activity", according to Coach P. They combined for 15-27 shooting, 24 of Duke's 57 rebounds, 7 of 17 assists and 13 of 19 steals. Gay had 7 steals and Christmas 4 to lead the defensive effort.

All told, Coach P was happy with the team's defense & rebounding and thought any offensive lulls were "self-imposed" because of missed layups, not because her team couldn't get good shots. Semrau said she had rarely been more embarrassed by one of her team's performances, that her let bad shots get to them, and that she didn't care about any excuses. FSU isn't as bad a team as they looked in this game, and they will certainly get better when Davis-Cain and Gray return. How good a defensive team Duke is will be answered on Monday, when they play Maryland. McCallie noted that the toughest thing about playing them is how good an offensive team they are without falling into any particular patterns. This turns the game into a matter of one-on-one defense, and taking pride in shutting down one's opponent. We'll see if Duke's learned anything after playing tough teams like UConn and Rutgers, and how they respond to a true road game in the most hostile environment they'll face all year.