While most of the Duke student body will go home and relax over Thanksgiving break, the women's basketball team will be hard at work, playing three games in five days.
Over the weekend the Blue Devils will host the Duke Women's Basketball Classic, proceeds from which go to the Ronald McDonald House. Duke will face Illinois State on Saturday at 3 p.m., and then play the winner of the St. Joseph's-Radford game on Sunday, also at three.
But first the Blue Devils will have to square off with West Virginia on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke beat the Mountaineers on the road last season 84-64. West Virginia is led by Talisha Hargis, who scored 16 points per game in 1995-96 and put in 24 against the Blue Devils last year. They also have a strong inside presence in 6-foot-4 center Ilfe Opstale.
The Blue Devils are coming off a weekend sweep of two UNC schools--Asheville and Greensboro--with convincing margins of victory in both games. Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said she was happy with her team's performance but it will need to continue to improve in several areas, especially in applying pressure defense.
"We had some good moments," Goestenkors said. "But we need more consistency. [West Virginia] is the best team we've played to date, so we'll need to be focused."
After a couple of days off for Thanksgiving, the Blue Devils will be back in action as they host the ninth annual Duke Classic, which they've won all but two times. Goestenkors said that Illinois State on Saturday should be a good matchup for her team. The Redbirds went 19-13 last season to earn a spot in the postseason NIT. They're 1-2 so far this year with a loss to No. 7 Iowa in the preseason NIT. Junior forward Valarie Trame leads the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game.
"They have great guard play," Goestenkors said. "But we should have the size advantage with Payton [Black]. We're going to try to attack inside."
Goestenkors said that the St. Joseph's-Radford game should be very competitive. The Hawks, who went 16-12 last season, lost to the Blue Devils by two points in the final of a tournament they hosted in 1994, the teams' only previous meeting. According to Goestenkors, St. Joseph's biggest strength is its defense, which is perennially ranked among the best in the nation. Its best player is senior forward Megan Compain, a native of New Zealand, who averaged 15.1 points per game last year.
Radford has reached the NCAA tournament each of the past three seasons out of the Big South Conference, which it has won seven years in a row. The Highlanders, who started 1996-97 0-2 with losses to James Madison and Mount St. Mary's, is led by sophomore guard Kim Hairston, who scored 14.4 points per game last season.
"They're a very physical team," Goestenkors said. "We're going to have to hit the boards and stop them from getting out on the break."
The coach said that she didn't think the Thanksgiving break will distract any of the teams.
"Everyone's always excited for a tournament," she said. "It's just another reason for us to be up for the games."
An added motivation for the players will be the charitable aspect of the tournament. Earlier this year the Blue Devils cooked a spaghetti supper for the residents of the Ronald McDonald House, and the other three teams will also tour the facility this weekend.
"This kind of thing really puts things back in perspective," Goestenkors said. "It reminds you of all the things we have to be thankful for, and I think it's very appropriate to have it around Thanksgiving."
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