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Game Recap by by Rob Clough Duke was up against some serious odds playing UConn. Abby Waner was back in
the lineup, but at nowhere near full speed. Wanisha Smith was gamely playing
through a wrist injury. The team was slightly fatigued after two grueling
slugfests against Purdue and Temple. Even a Duke team at full strength would
have been hard-pressed to beat UConn's blend of size, veterans, power and the
presence of superfrosh Maya Moore. That said, it was distressing to see Duke
not only lose, but also not put up much of a fight. The Devils were dominated
from start to finish in every phase of the game. And it's not just that UConn
was that much better than Duke, the problem was also Duke making a number of
mistakes that were prevalent in earlier games.
The first problem is a basic one: free throw shooting. There have been enough
games played to note that the team's foul shooting woes have become a trend.
At a guess, I'd say it's because the players aren't yet accustomed to shooting
free throws after they've been knocked around. It's understandable, but Duke
needs to start hitting these shots after contact, or else every opponent will
pound Duke until they prove they can take it. UNC, Tennessee and Rutgers will
surely delight in fouling Duke hard and making them prove they can exploit
this.
The second problem dogging Duke has been their persistent fouling. Fouls
generally occur under one of three circumstances: 1) an opponent is quicker
than you are, and you must foul them when they blow by you; 2) an opponent is
bigger and stronger than you are, and you must foul them because they overwhelm
you physically; 3) a defender is out of position, and must foul to prevent a
basket. In Duke's case, #1 certainly doesn't apply and #2 rarely applies. So
the problem as I see it is a lot of defensive confusion. That's partly because
the team is learning a new defense and is going through some bumps as a result,
but this also relates to my next point.
I've noted that the team plays with a great deal of effort and enthusiasm, but
not much efficiency. Part of that is due to the loss of Lindsey Harding, a
leader whose loss has become all the more glaring in her absence. It was so
easy to take things for granted when she was here, that when the team fails to
do certain things well, it only becomes obvious when you think about who's
missing. That said, the approach McCallie has used in deploying the team's
depth has made it difficult to develop a dependable crunch-time lineup, one
that knows each teammates' strengths and weaknesses. Instead, McCallie has
elected to try a number of different combinations in different game situations
in order to see what works. It's an approach that will cost the team some
wins, but the hope is that it'll make the team stronger down the stretch.
We'll see how this goes as the season progresses.
To the game itself: after taking a 4-0 lead on scores by Chante Black and
Carrem
Gay, UConn took control after Gay missed 2 foul shots and Renee Montgomery
stroked a three. That put the Huskies up 8-4, and they never looked back.
Back-to-back Duke turnovers put UConn ahead 13-4, but Black hit 2 in a row to cut
into the lead. Threes, free throws and an offensive rebound slowly allowed
UConn to stretch the lead to 26-10. A mini-run helped Duke get within 31-20
thanks to a Bridgette Mitchell trey. UConn continued to pound the ball inside
and Duke kept missing free throws, and the Huskies hung 40 points on the
Devils, tearing them up with 56% shooting. The Devils shot just 32% and 36%
from the foul line. Most frustrating of all, UConn outscored Duke 16-8 in
bench points.
In the second half, Duke got as close as 14 points with sixteen minutes left,
but 7 straight misses and 4 turnovers turned into a 22-point UConn lead. The
Huskies never let up, and Duke simply couldn't mount enough defensive pressure
to every prove a real threat to them. This was Duke's worst loss in nine
years - since a road loss to Notre Dame in November of 1998, a couple
of weeks after the Huskies blasted Duke in San Jose to start that season. That
Duke team also had some early-season conditioning and injury issues, but they
managed to regroup in a big way, becoming the first Blue Devil Final Four team. While this
team certainly has the talent to make the Final Four one senses
that there will be more painful losses along the way. As long as Duke grows
from these losses and improves, then the losses can help.
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