The women's basketball team made history on Saturday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium with a 77-68 win over Georgia Tech. For the first time ever, the team posted 10 Atlantic Coast Conference wins in a season. The accomplishment, however, means little to this year's talented crop of players.
"It's great that we have the 10th win, but our goals are bigger than that," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "We never talked about having 10 wins in the conference. Our goal is still to get the 20 wins, to finish in the top three [in the ACC] and to get the [NCAA tournament] bid.
"If we take care of ourselves--do the things we need to do, like be more focused for 40 minutes--we feel like our goals are going to take care of themselves."
So far, this approach has worked rather well for the Blue Devils. Duke (19-5, 10-4 ACC) is only one win shy of that first goal. An NCAA bid is virtually guaranteed now, and the Blue Devils control their own fate in terms of finishing near the top of the conference.
"We realize we're one win away from the 20 wins, two games away from the top three [in the ACC]," sophomore guard Kira Orr said. "We just have to concentrate on being able to play 40 complete minutes of basketball. We can celebrate after we reach our goals, not when we're one win away from reaching those goals."
The Blue Devils played a lax second half against the Yellow Jackets and came close to blowing a 19-point halftime lead. In order to complete its last goal, Duke can't afford to blow any more leads that it might obtain. The two foes remaining for the Blue Devils in regular-season play are Clemson and North Carolina, neither of which is likely to let Duke win with the erratic play that was prominent in the Georgia Tech game.
"[The Yellow Jackets] were ready to play again and didn't die," junior center Alison Day said. "They came after us. We've learned that lesson before, and we shouldn't have to learn it more than once."
The Blue Devils' final home game is against Clemson tonight at 7 p.m. in Cameron.
In this matchup, Duke faces a Tiger team which currently occupies fifth place in the ACC standings. If the Blue Devils can outlast Clemson, they will have locked up a no less than a third-place finish in the ACC.
With the help of an 88-86 N.C. State double overtime win versus North Carolina on Sunday, the Blue Devils are currently tied with the Tar Heels for second place in the conference. However, Duke must win at least one of its two final games to guarantee a top-three finish in the conference.
The other opponent remaining on the Blue Devils' schedule, North Carolina, already lost once to Duke this year. But that Blue Devil win came in Cameron on a last-second shot with the help of 5,000 fans. The atmosphere will no doubt be tougher in UNC's Carmichael Auditorium on Saturday.
So entering the final regular-season stretch, Duke carries its destiny in its own hands. The Blue Devils will be looking to finish with a strong showing and carry their momentum into the postseason. If Duke can knock off the Tigers tonight in Cameron, fans will be witnessing history in the making.
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