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Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA February 7, 2008 |
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Devils Outmuscle BC, 51-41
Game Recap by Rob CloughDuke pressed and trapped their way to a win over Boston College, but the results weren't pretty. Duke had superior quickness at virtually every position, and the Devils wanted to force tempo to prevent BC from getting into a comfortable rhythm and establishing their formidable frosh post duo of Carolyn Swords and Stephanie Murphy. That mission was an unequivocal success, as the Eagles committed 27 turnovers (16 Duke steals) and the Devils scored nearly half their points off of them. Swords was held scoreless on 0-7 shooting, while Murphy got just 4 shots off for 8 points. The stat of the night may have been that BC's starting guards, Jaclyn Thoman and Brittany Johnson, combined for 14 turnovers.Duke's starting lineup got a shakeup after the debacle against UNC. Joy Cheek was benched in favor of Carrem Gay, while Jasmine Thomas was replaced by Keturah Jackson. This meant that Abby Waner and Wanisha Smith shifted to the backcourt, with Abby as point. The results were not exactly smooth. KJ had her usual hustle stats, but Gay struggled from the field and Waner had 5 turnovers to go with 2 assists. Duke didn't crack double figures until the twelve minute mark of the first half. The Devils took control thanks to a Chante Black three point play, steals by Black and Bridgette Mitchell, and a stickback by Gay. The Devils had a 7-0 run to seemingly take control in the first half, but then went an astonishing eight minutes without a single point. The Devils missed 11 shots and turned the ball over 5 times during this sequence. BC only managed to put up 11 points, seizing a 23-19 lead with 30 seconds to go in the half. Abby Waner snapped out of her funk and canned a three with eight seconds left to give Duke much-needed momentum. She then opened the half with another three and Duke pounded the ball inside and got to the foul line to build a lead. The Devils pushed it up to 15 points with five minutes left when BC made a little run (keyed by Blue Devil defensive lapses including on an inbounds play), but they never came closer than 8 points. Half of Duke's points came from the line in the second half and a total of 37 fouls were called in this ugly, sloppy game. Duke was aggressive on defense and played with effort, but that was offset in part by another game where there was no continuity, flow or sense of efficiency on offense. Duke's improvement this season has come in fits and starts, with many of its players having peaks and valleys at different times. The Devils did have many early injuries, but have had their primary players available for over a month now. And while they mesh well in some games, they look like strangers in others. The development of a team is rarely a smooth upward curve, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more "one step forward, two steps back" situations as the season progresses. The question is, will Duke be ready for postseason play? McCallie has been pointing to March all season; it'll be interesting to see if things actually do click for this team when tournament time rolls around, and in particular how they bounce back from the long downtime between ACC and NCAA tournament play. |
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