Well, it looks like Duke's chemistry and focus problems seem to be
receding for now, because the Devils absolutely dominated Georgetown
89-54. This was Duke's fourth straight road game and their fourth win in
as many tries. Georgetown was a much tougher foe than Virginia,
especially when you consider that Duke only had one day to prepare for
them. The Hoyas had just whipped top-25 George Washington, and a win
over Duke would get them into the polls.
Here are some stats that jump out: Duke shot 52% in the first half and
followed that with 58% in the second half. Duke shot a scorching 62%
from three, an almost unthinkable number considering their early-season
woes. (Perhaps having Georgia Schweitzer around as a volunteer assistant
really is paying off!) More impressively, five different Devils hit
threes (Tillis, Mosch, Krapohl, Beard, and Gingrich), while Currie and
Matyasovsky also took them. Duke crushed the Hoyas on the boards, 45-22,
including picking up 17 offensive rebounds. Considering that Duke only
missed 26 shots and 5 free throws, that shows that they were really
aggressive on the boards. The Hoyas were held to just 37% from the
floor, including 32% in the second half. Duke went to the line 22 times
compared to just 5 tries for Georgetown.
Duke built a 15-7 lead early in the half behind the play of Iciss
Tillis and Sheana Mosch. Mosch scored 4 points and had an assist, while
Tillis had 7 points, including a three. Better still, Georgetown's
leading scorer Rebekkah Brunson picked up 2 quick fouls and was out of
the game for much of the half. Duke built a 21-11 lead thanks to 4
points by Monique Currie, but the Hoyas crawled to within 4 with ten
minutes left in the half. The teams exchanged baskets in a flurry,
with Beard and Matyasovsky teaming up for 6 points to extend the lead to
27-19.
The Devils then went into a bit of drought, missing free throws and
point-blank layups, but Georgetown couldn't capitalize. Mosch had a
4-point play to extend Duke's lead back out to 10 with five minutes left
in the half. The Hoyas made a run that proved to be the last time they
would threaten in the game. They followed a three with a layup off a
Vicki Krapohl turnover, then rebounded a Beard miss to hit another three
and pull within 33-31 with three minutes left. A Tillis miss led to a
three attempt that rimmed out and led to a fast break basket by Currie.
The Hoyas tried another three that missed, and this time Beard pulled up
and sank a trey. Georgetown simply fell apart at that point, as Currie
scored on another drive and the Hoyas turned the ball over twice in the
last minute. Duke couldn't take advantage either, missing a layup and
turning the ball over twice themselves, and had to be content with a
40-31 lead at the half.
Or rather, they were not content, because they had a chance to really
take the Hoyas out and blew it. So Duke quickly attacked in the second
half and kept the pressure up offensively. Of course, after an initial
layup by Wynter Whitley put the lead into double digits, both teams went
cold for a couple of minutes. But Krapohl hit a three that sparked her
team and Beard had a steal and runout to give Duke a 14 point lead. The
two teams traded baskets in the next two minutes, with Beard hitting a
jumper and getting an assist. With Duke leading 51-39, Matyasovsky found
Beard spotting up for a three, and she nailed it as part of a 13-0 run
that put the Hoyas away. Whitley contributed with an offensive putback,
Krista Gingrich had a steal and dish to Whitley on the break for a three
point play, and then Krista nailed her one and only shot of the game to
make the score 62-39 with eleven minutes left.
Georgetown got back into it a little, cutting the lead back down to 17
with nine minutes left, but Beard and Currie were everywhere. Currie
scored 8 points in about three minutes to push the lead to 80-49, while
Beard was scoring, dishing and swiping the ball. Krapohl finished things
up with a late three.
Duke shot the ball well, minimized their mistakes (just 16 turnovers),
played aggressive defense, used a diversified attack, and got good
production out of every player. It is amazing to see the effect of White
and Craig leaving the program has had on some of the players. Gingrich
and Mosch in particular have really stepped up and are becoming true
leaders.
The frontcourt played extremely well. Tillis and Whitley combined for
24 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Tillis didn't
have the greatest shooting night (5-13) but compensated with great
defense and passing. Whitley's aggressiveness held get Brunson into foul
trouble. Matyasovsky was excellent off the bench, scoring 10 on 4-5
shooting and picking up 4 boards and 2 assists--her best overall showing
of the year.
Duke's wings did their usual thing in this game, with Beard netting 16
points (7-12), 3 boards, 8 assists and 4 steals. Currie led the the with
17 points and had 5 rebounds and a couple of steals. But the team didn't
depend on these two for points, with players like Mosch and Matyasovsky
stepping up early.
The guards played very well, and may have been the key for Duke in this
game. Mosch stepped up in the first half, scoring all 10 of her points
when Duke really needed them. She also wound up with 10 rebounds, 6
offensive. When Mosch is scrapping and clawing for the ball, she's at
her best, and this is the player that Duke needs every game. Throw in 3
assists and a steal and you have a very solid game from her. I was happy
to see a couple of three attempts in there as well. Krapohl shot well
(3-3 from three) but had 3 turnovers and 0 assists. One turnover fueled
Georgetown's last first half run. While her shooting is certainly a
welcome aid for Duke, her first priority must be not to turn the ball
over. Other teams will be coming after her on defense, and she must be
ready. On the other hand, Gingrich had a great game. She only had 1
three, but it came at a great moment. More importantly, she had 3
assists, 0 turnovers and 2 steals. This is exactly what Duke needs out
of her, and if she can help on defense then that's all the better.
Duke is looking a lot different from the team that lost to South
Carolina and Toledo. The team had 22 assists on 32 field goals, with 6
of the 8 players getting assists. Duke is working hard to get to the
foul line and their previously suspect post-game is yielding great
results. Duke's outside shooting has miraculously improved, with
expected contributors Krapohl and Gingrich stepping up and Beard finally
getting comfortable from long range.
Duke returns home on Sunday, December 16 at 8:00pm. There will be a
men & women's double-header of sorts, with the men finishing up at 5:30.
If you have a men's ticket, then you can get into the women's game for
free. Furthermore, you can stick around between games and check out the
food court/shopping area that's going to be set up. Duke will look to
stay sharp after exams with that game against UNC-Greensboro and then
Liberty on the 20th. Then they face a real final exam: Tennessee.
A couple of random notes: Maryland and NC State both lost today, with
the Terps losing to Penn State and the Wolfpack Women getting hammered on
the road by Wisconsin. Incidentally, that's were Lello Gebisa
transferred to from Duke. She's sitting out this year, but she'll get to
play with her younger sister who is a freshman. Speaking of transfers,
LaNedra Brown ended up at Seton Hall, much like Andre Sweet of the men's
team. She's already been tabbed as someone who will help their front
line. Lastly, Olga Gvozdenovic has officially joined the Duke women's
tennis team. As one might guess, she is by far the tallest player on the
squad at 6-2! Good luck to all three.