If the women's basketball team could have its way, it would start the new season next week. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, they have a whole year to ponder what went wrong down the stretch to put a damper on a season filled with great strides.
Despite improving by four conference wins over last season, the Blue Devils ended their season with a four-game losing streak that cost them a possible trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils ended the season at 16-11 overall, 7-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Duke stood at 16-7 and in good position to secure an NCAA bid late in the season, but the Blue Devils lost games to North Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Maryland to end the season.
"Sometimes it takes learning the hard way to end up where you want," junior forward Carey Kauffman said. "We learned the hard way. We did succeed some this year, but we didn't accomplish what we wanted to and that's disappointing. It's kind of a consolation [to say] `Oh yeah, we did better.' So what. We didn't do what we should have done."
In just her second season at Duke, head coach Gail Goestenkors turned the Blue Devil program into one that could compete in the strong ACC. Yet inexperience plagued the team and cost it down the stretch of the season.
"You know, it's the first time we were in this type of situation," Goestenkors said. "I think this year we learned how to win in the ACC. We won some big games at Clemson and Maryland at home. But again, I think we were put in a situation that we were not used to, the pressure of having to win games, of needing to win games."
Ironically, one of the other factors that Goestenkors blamed for the disappointing ending was not having enough cohesion on the floor.
"Last year we didn't have a lot of numbers and consequently everybody got to play a lot and got to play through many mistakes," Goestenkors said. "I think this year we had more depth and I went deeper into the bench. What we gained in depth helped us, but at times we didn't have that cohesiveness on the floor, knowing exactly what your teammates were going to do because you were always playing with somebody different."
Still, the Blue Devils all agree that it was not a lack of effort that led to the late-season slump.
"It's not that anyone didn't try hard or work hard, it's just that at the end nothing was falling for us, even in the [ACC] tournament," Kauffman said.
With the memory of their tough ending still fresh, the Blue Devils should be extra motivated to succeed next season.
"The way the season ended left a feeling in the pit of our stomachs, and I think that's something that hopefully will drive us forward." Goestenkors said.
The Blue Devils return three starters next season -- Kauffman, sophomore forward Alison Day and sophomore guard Jen Scanlon. Duke will lose three seniors -- senior forward Nicole Johnson, point guard Missy Anderson and forward Valerie Evans -- but the Blue Devils should be able to compensate for their losses.
Freshman Kira Orr proved toward the end of last season that she could handle the point. And along with Kauffman, juniors Zeki Blanding and Kris Meiman should be able to give the team more leadership. Also, freshman center Tyish Hall proved that she can be a force when healthy.
"I think now everyone has the same goal," Kauffman said. "Everyone wants what's best for the team. You can have a talented group of individuals, but if they don't want the same thing, you won't have any kind of success."
The one item the Blue Devils will have to gain is consistency. Most of the strong programs in the ACC have at least one player who will have a good game day in and day out.
"I do think we are going to have to have people step up and say Give me the ball',We need to score', or `I need to score,'" Kauffman said. "We don't have one player who plays consistently well."
Nonetheless, Kauffman is confident that she will travel to the NCAA Tournament before her Duke career is over.
"I know that we will be in the NCAA Tournament next year," Kauffman said.
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