For the first 15 minutes of the 13th-ranked Blue Devils' contest against James Madison in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, anyone watching the game might have thought the contest could go down to the wire.
But starting at the 4:50 mark of the first stanza, the women's basketball team tore off on a 15-3 run to end the half and take a 40-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Despite the 10-point lead, Duke was still concerned with its play at the break. The Dukes had grabbed 10 defensive rebounds, allowing the Blue Devils to get only three offensive boards.
"In the first half, we were a little shaky and I thought it would take us a while to get going," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I thought we did a good job defensively. Early on, they were hitting every shot they took. I was very impressed with their play... We hoped they would cool down and I think that's what happened."
The first few minutes of the second half erased any doubts about which team would win the game. By the 13:42 mark, the Blue Devils had not only erased any doubts about their win, but they had opened up a 23-point lead, 59-36, and kept JMU without any hope of recovering for a victory.
Apparently whatever Goestenkors told her players during the break worked.
"We talked about how important the first five minutes of the second half would be," Goestenkors said of the team's halftime conversations. "We thought that if we let James Madison crawl back into it that it would be a battle down the stretch. We tried to put them away early, and I think that's what we did."
The Blue Devils steadily increased their lead throughout the half, as a Tyish Hall jumper put Duke up 70-38 with just under eight minutes left in the game.
"Coach came in and told us we were getting outrebounded, and one of our goals was to outrebound them," Hall said. "So coming into the second half, we just went after the ball."
The focus on rebounding proved successful for the Blue Devils as they allowed James Madison only seven turnovers in the second half, while Duke pounded the boards for 27 rebounds in the half. The Blue Devils ended up with a 43-24 rebounding margin for the contest.
Duke also proved tough to defend, as five players scored in double figures, led by senior Jennifer Scanlon and freshman Payton Black with 18 each.
"I'd like to congratulate Duke University," JMU head coach Sheila Moorman said. "They have a fine team. Certainly, as we anticipated, their offensive balance was one of the major factors in their success. This particular edition of the JMU Dukes is not as strong defensively as our past NCAA teams and it was certainly exploited today."
It didn't help James Madison that the Blue Devils were nailing over half of their shots from the floor. Duke drained 32-of-60 field goals from the floor, including 7-of-12 from beyond the three-point arc.
"We know we have a lot of people on this team that can score," senior center Alison Day said. "We don't try to rely on just the post players or just the perimeter each game. We try to get a balance and I think that's what we did tonight.
"We have so many weapons on this team, and it really showed from the stats. On any given night, someone will score 20 points, but it will be somebody different the next night."
The Blue Devils have rebounded from various problems throughout the season, including injuries to several players, but it seemed that Duke returned in top form Saturday night. Despite losing in the ACC championship game two weekends ago with a lackluster showing, the Blue Devils showed they have something to prove-and they took a major step in achieving what no other Duke team has done. If the Blue Devils can outlast San Francisco in Monday night's second-round game, the 1995-96 Duke team will become the first team ever to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
In order to get past the upstart Lady Dons, however, the Blue Devils will need a balanced effort, much like it received Saturday evening.
"It's going to be a tough match," Hall said. "They are really physical inside. We're looking to keep our poise and do what we know how to do best."
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