Playing without Georgia Schweitzer and Krista Gingrich, the
Duke women fell to the Russian Junior National team 77-69.Here's an article from the N&O also.
It's a young team, but one
with some potential, and more help on the way next year.Â
We miss the good old days when you could work up a good head of steam just saying the word Russian (usually closely followed by Godless atheists, Red Peril, or other rhetorical excesses). There's still a bit of the old rivalry there, but mostly now it's gone. Kids today - they just have no idea of what 1972 meant - both to the Russians and the Americans. Ask Tom Burleson or Doug Collins. They remember.Â
Nowadays when Duke or UNC fans say they pull for the Russians to whip their rivals, it doesn't mean much more than pulling for Sweden or Korea. But in the old days it was a bold statement of principle. Go Russkies! Crush those Heels!
We might as well admit it - the Cold War had some nice secondary effects.