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Game Recap by Rob CloughDuke came into the UNC game with a good deal of confidence. The Devils had just
torn apart Virginia Tech, bouncing back from a close loss to Tennessee. Even in
that loss, Duke had played superb defense against the Lady Vols. If Duke could
match that defensive effort against the Heels and stay even on the boards,
they'd have an excellent chance to win. Duke was hoping to slow down UNC's
potent frontcourt and turn them into a jumpshooting team. Unfortunately, Duke
gave UNC too many wide-open shots and some unlikely players buried them. With
the momentum that their three pointers gave them, the Heels got into a nice
flow on offense and Duke couldn't shut down any aspect of their attack. That's
how Duke gave up an unthinkable 93 points to the Heels, easily their worst
defensive performance of the year. Duke's 76 points should have been enough to
beat any opponent, but in this game, they simply didn't have the firepower to
keep up with UNC.
The first half consisted of several UNC runs and Duke's attempts to keep up with
them. After Chante Black scored the game's first points, Cetera Graffenreid
sank an open three and blew by Jasmine Thomas for a layup. Duke responded by
trying to attack the post, with Joy Cheek scoring on a post-up and Black
hitting 2 free throws. Waner then hit a 17' jumper and found Black inside for
a basket to bring Duke within 13-12. The Heels hit back with a 12-4 run,
highlighted by back-to-back threes by DeGraffenreid and Rebecca Gray.
The Devils turned up their defensive pressure and stuck to their game plan of
getting Black the ball. Chante scored 10 early points, thanks mostly to
Thomas' penetration. Thomas triggered a 9-0 run with a basket to Black, and
Waner followed that up with a steal & runout for a three point play. Duke
forced another stop and got another runout, this time on a long pass to Wanisha
Smith for a score. Keturah Jackson then drove, scored and was fouled. She
missed the free throw that would have put Duke up by 1.
UNC used an 8-2 run built on stickbacks to retake control of the game; the key
moment was a three-point play by Erlana Larkins. Larkins made the tough plays
the whole game, especially when Jessica Breland and LaToya Pringle were in foul
trouble. Once again, Duke didn't fold. Carrem Gay had a spectacular steal &
runout to trigger a 6-0 run, one where she also pulled up for a 10' jumper.
Jackson then made a huge error, fouling DeGraffenreid when she was attempting a
three. That seemed to really deflate the Devils, as UNC finished the half on an
11-3 run. That included an unlikely three by Pringle, but it was three late
Duke turnovers that hurt them.
The Devils were never really able to cut into that deficit, as the Heels hit 3
straight shots early in the second half to push their lead to 57-43. The
Devils stayed within 12-14 points with scores by Gay, J.Thomas, Black and
Jackson. Wanisha Smith hit a three and a foul shot to pull Duke wihin 65-55
with twelve minutes to go, but the Heels responded with a punishing 9-2 run.
Once again, a three point play by Larkins was the centerpiece of the run. Duke
tried to tread water, pulling within 13 points on consecutive drives by Smith,
Waner and Gay, but a three by Heather Claytor with under three minutes left
salted the game away.
The story of this game was a lack of daring and lack of attention to detail.
Duke didn't stay consistently aggressive on offense, in part due to their lack of
confidence from outside of the paint. But the real problem was a lack
of defensive communication. DeGraffenreid frequently beat J.Thomas off the
dribble, but no one rotated over to stop her and take a charge. The Heels are
a great offensive rebounding club, but even players like Gray got multiple
offensive boards simply because Duke wasn't boxing out hard. The Devils
stopped getting the ball to Black and were dominated by Larkins. She scored
just 13 points, but when the Heels ran the offense through her, she either
scored, was fouled or found a teammate (6 assists). The Heels are not always a
team known for their efficiency, but their young bench had some remarkable
contributions in just a few minutes.
This was a tough loss because it almost
felt like the Heels were toying with Duke. It wasn't quite a UConn-level
blowout, or a Maryland-type collapse. UNC just stepped up in all aspects of
their play and Duke never matched their level of intensity or skill.
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