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Game Report by Rob Clough
Duke accomplished most of its defensive goals against a solid but
overmatched University of South Florida team, once again winning a true
road game. Duke's certainly not tinkering with its new lineup in the
comforts of home, as six of Duke's first seven games are on the road.
The Devils' offense was not exactly firing on all cylinders for the first
nine minutes of the game, as they scored just 19 points and led by 8.
However, Duke was insistent on getting touches for their bigs,
and it started to pay off as they began to warm up. Duke's defense and
depth were also important keys, because both helped get several key USF
players in serious foul trouble and also generated some easy baskets.
While this wasn't a pretty game because of how physical and choppy it was,
one never got the sense that USF had any real chance because of the
dominance of Duke's defense. The Devils succeeded in turning the USF team
into a group of individuals, and such collections are easy to guard and
turn over.
The Devils were playing without Abby Waner, who is sitting out a
couple of games with a high ankle strain. This is an annoying injury that
only gets better with rest, and it will likely hamper her movement for a
few weeks. Coach McCallie shook up the starting lineup by inserting
Brittany Mitch and Keturah Jackson, based on their play in practice and
the Denver game. Both struggled early on, and a lazy Mitch crosscourt
pass was picked off for a score that actually allowed USF to lead 4-2 in
the early going. Carrem Gay scored her only field goals of the game on a
post-up and a high-low finish to put Duke up 6-4. Jasmine Thomas came off
the bench for a coast-to-coast basket that showed off her blazing speed
with the ball. Duke turned up the pressure and attacked the basket, as
Wanisha Smith sank 2 free throws and Joy Cheek stole an inbounds pass and
scored. Six minutes into the game, Duke led 12-6.
After a USF stickback, Duke ran off 7 in a row. That included a
Jackson fastbreak basket, a J.Thomas fastbreak finish and a perfect
diagonal pass from Mitch, and a Bridgette Mitchell post-up on an Emily
Waner feed. Designated shooter Daiane Packer hit a trey for USF, but the
Devils countered with an 8-0 run. Chante Black, who had missed a number
of chippies after hitting her first shot of the game, started to warm up
with a baseline jumper and a strong post-up. Mitchell came up with a
steal and Cheek tore down the court to finish a pass from J.Thomas. Duke
had stretched their lead out to 27-11 with under six minutes to go in the
half.
A bit of sloppiness started to creep into Duke's defense, as they put
USF on the foul line. Duke also went nearly three minutes with any
scores, and missed a few free throws along the way to allow USF to hang
within 12 points despite their struggles with scoring and fouls. In the
last three minutes of the half, Duke got serious with an 11-0 run that
pretty much put the game away. Amazingly, four different players scored
during the run. Mitchell found Cheek inside for a three point play,
Karima Christmas hit a free throw, scored on a post up and found Mitch for
a three, and Mitchell hit 2 free throws. USF missed 3 shots and piled up
6 turnovers during that span as one could see Duke's defense really
flexing its muscles as they opened up a 38-15 lead. Duke actually took
care of the ball reasonably well in the half, with only 7 miscues. The
eye-popping stats in the half were Duke's 24-4 advantage in points in the
paint and their 20-2 edge in points off turnovers. The Devils held USF to
just 18% shooting from the floor, which helped make up for the fact that
the Devils shot just 40% themselves, including 1-10 from three.
Duke kept the pressure up in the second half as Smith shook off a
mediocre first half to score on a stickback and stroke a three. When
Cheek went to the basket, that put the Devils up 45-17. A minute later,
starting USF center Jessica Lawson picked up her fifth foul. With no
seasoned post presence on the floor, Duke went to work inside. Black hit
4 straight foul shots and Krystal Thomas came in off the bench to score
her first points. With under sixteen minutes left in the game, Duke had a
49-22 lead. The Devils then followed 4 straight USF points with 6 in a
row of their own, highlighted by a J.Thomas steal & layup.
By the ten minute mark, Duke built their lead to 30 points, mostly on
free throws. In the last ten minutes of the game, Duke's intensity waned
a bit and USF scored 18 of their 52 points. For Duke's part, frosh
Christmas and K.Thomas made the most of their minutes. Krystal scored in
transition and on a number of post-ups, while Christmas showed off her
willingness to attack the basket and her usual non-stop hustle. That duo
combined for 9 points down the stretch.
For the game, one big positive was the way the team shared the ball.
Every player had at least 1 assist, and seven players had multiple
assists. At times, the players overpassed a bit, giving up good shots in
the high post and passing into turnovers or contested shots. Part of that
had to do with players who still aren't quite comfortable hunting their
own shots. Another area of concern is defensive communication. There
were some plays where players didn't seem to quite know where to be on
defense, and that led to a lot of the fouls. While the players trapped and
pressed with impressive results, being able to make quick rotations in the
halfcourt will be an important key. That communication may also have
affected Duke's rebounding a bit. They did win the rebounding by 13, but
gave up 16 offensive boards. Some of these came from ineffective
block-outs or simply not securing the ball properly.
Depth was certainly the team's biggest positive. Every player
contributed at least one or two positive plays, and several young players
got some valuable, confidence-building minutes. In a game where the
team's leading scorer was out and another veteran got hurt, this was an
excellent sign of the team's overall potential.
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