DWHoops Photo by Orin Day

With the shot clock running down, senior Jasmine Thomas hits the shot that proved to be the game winner for Duke.

"This was a game for women. It wasn't a game for girls." So said coach Joanne P. McCallie after her Duke Blue Devils edged Texas A&M, 61-58. She also likened it to a heavyweight fight, one where each opponent took turns pounding each other, both in the paint and on the scoreboard. Both teams found ways to take away what the other wanted to do. Texas A&M really wanted to run, and Duke limited their transition opportunities. Duke wanted to pound the ball inside, and A&M denied entry passes to Krystal Thomas and forced turnovers. When two teams are equally athletic and quick, games like this come down to toughness, limiting mistakes and making one or two big plays. Both teams were equally tough, but Duke made a couple of more plays down the stretch to get the win. In a game with 8 ties and 16 lead changes, Duke's experience playing in close games became a crucial part of the win. Seniors Jasmine Thomas, Karima Christmas and Krystal Thomas all had key plays to contribute to the win, but both Chelsea Gray and Shay Selby also had big-time plays as well. This wasn't the prettiest of games, but Duke never panicked, made adjustments at both ends of the floor when needed, and fed off the energy of their crowd when things got really hot. The Devils will play against a number of great teams this season, but they won't face many as tough and hard to match up with as the Aggies.

Editor's Note: Our coverage for this game has been updated including a full game recap and captioned/tagged photos.