TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Ahead 31-17 deep into the first half, the Blue Devils appeared poised to run the Seminoles out of their own gym.
Yet once again, Duke learned the importance of sustaining a strong 40-minute effort.
The Blue Devils were outscored 40-21 in the second-half of a 74-58 defeat at the hands of Florida State Sunday. A game that was knotted up at 54 with just six minutes to go got away from Duke quickly, as foul trouble and a subpar rebounding effort hurt the Blue Devils.
“It was a good basketball game, but we obviously don’t feel good about the things that we did,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “Credit Florida State for doing some of those things out there as a team.”
The Blue Devils have made a living all season dominating on the boards and as the tallest team in the nation, Duke’s height advantage has been the biggest strength for the squad this season.
But Florida State, led by the dominant play of center Adut Bulgak—who finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds—turned the tables on the Blue Devils by bringing down 18 offensive rebounds and outrebounding Duke 38-28 in the game. The Seminoles' 14 first-half offensive rebounds helped offset the team’s 34 percent shooting from the field and cut the Duke lead to 37-34 at the half.
“Our rebounding stat is so disturbing that I can’t even comment on it really,” McCallie said. “Our post rebounding was really horrific and that really did it for us.”
Although rebounding continued to be a problem for the Blue Devils in the second half, widespread foul trouble for Duke was an even bigger factor down the stretch and created problems on both sides of the ball.
All-American center Elizabeth Williams was limited to just 25 minutes in the contest and fouled out late in the game, and senior guard Ka’lia Johnson and sophomore forward Oderah Chidom missed key portions of the game, finishing with four fouls apiece.
“The foul trouble was a difference maker, “ McCallie said. “Two starters with four fouls.… That’s a problem.”
Williams sat much of the second half with four fouls, and without her commanding interior presence, freshman Azura Stevens and redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell were forced to carry much of the load. With the Florida State crowd sensing the upset, the duo—who led the team with 19 and 17 points, respectively—struggled to make an impact in the final six minutes of the contest.
“We were trying to get the ball inside mainly in the beginning of the game,” Greenwell said. “We were trying to also score in transition and we did a good job of that in the first half, but we got away from it in the second half.”
In many ways, Sunday’s game was yet another chapter in an up-and-down season for Duke. The focused team that showed up for the first 14 minutes of the game is capable of challenging some of the nation’s best. On the other hand, the team that looked frazzled as the Seminoles went on a 20-4 run is one that will struggle to contain teams capable of matching the Blue Devils’ height down low.
Although Duke was victimized by a couple of questionable, game-changing calls, the Blue Devils did not take advantage of the opportunities they had to seize control of the game.
Duke’s season-long turnover problem manifested itself yet again. The Blue Devils committed 25 giveaways for the second game in a row, leading to 23 Seminole points that helped Florida State sustain a long run that continued into the second half. The Blue Devils also failed to get good looks for their best players when the game was on the line as the combination of Williams, Greenwell and Stevens only had four points—all from the foul line—during the Seminoles' late push.
As evident in Duke’s non-conference gauntlet, the Blue Devils appear capable of hanging in the game with almost any team in the nation. Improvements from beyond the arc and additional playing time for energizer Mercedes Riggs have made the squad more versatile and given Duke multiple ways to attack opponents.
But without marked improvement in the turnover department and a return to dominating the glass, expect Duke’s roller-coaster ride to continue throughout ACC play.
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