The Blue Devils are looking to rebound from a brutal contest against No. 1 Connecticut as they jump back into conference play against unranked Virginia Tech. No. 6 Duke is hoping to bring its high level of intensity from the Connecticut game to the ACC slate.
The highly-touted matchup against the undefeated Huskies was a chance for the Blue Devils (15-3, 3-0 in the ACC) to test their skills against the best team in the country. It was also a chance for the student body to show its support in Cameron, even in what turned out to be a blowout loss.
“It was really amazing to see how many people came out,” junior Karima Christmas said. “Most of the time we don’t have that many students at our games, but being able to see them come out and support us was a lot of fun.”
Despite outrebounding the Huskies, Duke could not stop their balanced and talented attack, losing by 33 points. Jasmine Thomas pestered the Huskies in the first half, but her 17 points on the night weren’t enough to overcome Connecticut’s suffocating defense.
Still, the team is thankful for the high-profile contest against Connecticut as it resumes a tough ACC schedule.
“We know how close we came,” Christmas said. “We know what we did wrong and what we should have done at certain points in the game. I think we will grow from that and try to stay focused and get better as a team.”
The contest with the Hokies (11-6, 1-2) marks the the first of 11 straight ACC matchups, and Duke is focused on remaining undefeated in ACC play and capturing the conference championship.
The Blue Devils were relatively satisfied with their play for long stretches against Connecticut, and they are confident that a similar level of performance will yield better results in the upcoming weeks.
“It’s about conference play now,” Christmas said. “You have to have a short memory from the last game and just go out there and try to accomplish your goals.”
The Hokies are near the bottom of the ACC standings, but they are coming off a win at home against No. 10 North Carolina. Christmas said Virginia Tech is excellent in transition and on the defensive side of the ball, holding their opponents to just 57.5 points per game.
Duke will focus on shutting down seniors Utahya Drye and Lindsay Biggs, who lead the Hokies’ offensive attack and average 11.5 and 11.9 points per game, respectively.
“It’s going to be great to get our frustrations out on another team,” Christmas said.
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