Tonight is the night for the women's basketball team.
The Blue Devils have an opportunity to exhibit their skills as they take on Virginia Commonwealth in the first round of the Preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke is excited going into this game, despite the fact that the season has started off with injuries to key players.
`One thing that I learned last season... is that when this team is faced with some adversity, they have always been able to dig a little bit deeper," head coach Gail Goestenkors said.
Depth is a major concern for the Blue Devils. Only nine of the 12 team members are fit to play. Junior forward Tyish Hall has a strained back, but will start if she is able. Junior forward Windsor Coggeshall practiced for the first time in two weeks Monday.
"We were fortunate last year not to have injuries," Goestenkors said. "Hopefully, we will get it all out the way early."
Duke is expecting a very physical game in which the Rams will put a lot of pressure on the ball.
"We feel in order to win, we have to do a good job executing our offense," Goestenkors said. "We need to get out and run."
Virginia Commonwealth is a solid team that ended the 1994-95 season with a 20-10 record and a trip to the NIT. The Rams have two returning starters, sophomore guards Gabrielle Kyhlstedt and Vendeal Thelander.
"They love to shoot the three, and they do a good job handling the ball," Goestenkors said of Kyhlstedt and Thelander. "They like to push the ball up the court."
Duke boasts six freshmen this season, and two of those players should make immediate contributions for the injury-depleted squad. Nazrawit Medhanie played on the Swedish Junior National Team in 1990 and 1991, while Payton Black has competed in the U.S. Olympic Festival and has played on the AAU national team several times.
"I think it's a lot of pressure [on the freshmen], but I think they're handling it well," Goestenkors said. "[Medhanie and Black] have played with a lot of pressure for many years. I think they're doing a good job, considering that there is a lot of pressure on them."
The lack of team depth will put a lot of pressure on returning veterans. Senior center Alison Day is a preseason first-team All-ACC selection, while senior guard Jennifer Scanlon and junior guard Kira Orr join Hall and Day as the starters from last year's team. Goestenkors' main goal for this game is to create time to rest her players, despite the lack of depth.
"We have to focus on the game and what's going on on the court," Orr said. "We're focusing more on who we have, not who's hurt."
The freshmen performed well in last Saturday's exhibition game against the Champion AAU team. Medhanie stepped up to lead the team in scoring with 23 points, and should be the fifth starter for the Blue Devils tonight.
"I was surprised she lead the team in scoring," Goestenkors said of Medhanie in the preseason game. "She's going to get her three-point shots off. When she gets set, she's very accurate."
The Swedish native only had two turnovers in the exhibition game despite leading the team in practice turnovers. She will enjoy playing the Rams since four Swedish players compete for Virginia Commonwealth, all of which Medhanie has played with.
If the Blue Devils outlast the Rams, the next game in the tournament could either be held at Duke or at Texas A&M. The game sites are determined by the team which draws the most attendance.
"Texas A&M averaged about 1,700 [people per game] last year," Goestenkors said. "I don't know what it's going to take [to get the next home game]. I'm thinking at least 2,000 people."
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