Waner-Led Rally Whacks Noles, 81-67

Recap by Rob Clough

Duke easily handled FSU earlier in the season, though they were missing shooter Tanae Davis-Cain and generally were a mess due to assorted suspensions. The Noles showed some pride and took advantage of some lax perimeter defense to hit 4-8 threes in the first half. Almost all of their threes came on either wide-open looks on routine passes, or were generated by some simple penetration by their guards. This helped make up for their lack of post production and rebounding. That said, the Noles simply outhustled Duke for the first 30 minutes of the game. They got 21 second-chance points on 14 offensive boards, scored 20 points off 15 Duke turnovers and got to the line 17 times.

The Devils stayed in the game thanks to the post production of Chante Black (20 points), who managed to massage foul trouble and make some key baskets. Duke went a bit deeper into its bench than usual in an effort to wear down FSU a bit and attempt to find a lineup that worked effectively. To some degree, this led to some of the defensive disorganization but eventually wound up paying off. When Freshour stuck back her own miss with 11:47 left to give FSU a 53-47 lead, Duke looked like they were about ready to crack. The Noles were beating Duke to every loose ball, but it was time for Waner to get going.

First, she drove and dished to Black for a layup. With FSU forward Cayla Moore on the bench with 4 fouls and slender post ineffective against Duke, Chante had a great look at the basket. Waner then forced a steal from FSU leader Shante Williams and scored for her first points of the game. Karima Christmas came up with a key block and rebound and Joy Cheek stuck back a Black miss to tie the game at 53. FSU suddenly found open shots harder to come by and Wanisha Smith rebounded a miss and found Waner flying up the court for a layup to give Duke back the lead. Then came another key play: Shante Williams missed a shot, Waner grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Williams. That was her fourth foul, and FSU unraveled without their senior floor leader. Abby hit both freebies, and Christmas grabbed another rebound. Waner then blasted away from about 25' and spun around in sheer joy as a result.

That put Duke up 60-53. Waner drove and dished out to Jasmine Thomas for a three, and then drained another long shot to put Duke up 66-56 with six minutes left. A big-time hustle play and steal by Thomas led to another Waner layup to make it 68-58, and a three by Smith with 3:25 left put the game out of reach. Duke played the last ten minutes of the game with a verve that's been in rare evidence this year, and it's clear that if they can do this against their upcoming competition, they certainly have the talent to win.