RICHMOND, Va. - Sophomore center Payton Black led the 15th ranked women's basketball team to a resounding 89-60 victory over Richmond Sunday during the Central Fidelity Women's Invitational Tournament, as the Blue Devils (6-1) were relegated to playing in the consolation game after picking up their first loss of the season Saturday to a bigger and more experienced Old Dominion team, 89-77.
"Overall, I was pleased with our team effort," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I was a little concerned about being able to come back and focus after [Saturday's] loss. But I think we learned a lot about ourselves this weekend. We understand what we need to work on to be a great team."
And come back the Blue Devils did. Black finished Sunday's contest with a new career high 31 points on 63 percent shooting from the field. She coupled this with her third double-double performance ever, as the 6-foot-4 Pennsylvania native pulled down 10 rebounds.
During the first half alone, Black scored 18 points-three more than the entire Spider (4-2) starting lineup scored.
Indeed, the Blue Devils came out strong Sunday, never relinquishing the lead and ending the first half with a 12-0 run that put the Spiders down 47-30.
"I just wanted to make sure that we did not take them lightly," Goestenkors said. "And I wanted to sub a lot of players because I knew we were exhausted from trying to come back yesterday the whole game. I felt like the subs came in and did a good job."
Black didn't go it by herself, however, as 6-foot-1 freshman forward Lauren Rice stepped up her level of play on the inside to grab 11 rebounds and notch 10 points, the first double-double performance of her career. Senior guard Kira Orr also tallied 21 points, and along the way scored her 1,000th point, making her only the 10th player in Duke's history ever to do so.
Orr's landmark point came at 15:31 in the second half when she drove the lane and attacked the basket to make a picture-perfect layup on which she drew a foul from Spider center Amy Dorsett.
Although the Blue Devils were able to garner a significant victory against the Spiders Sunday because of a great offensive effort-Duke went on a 9-0 run during the middle of the second half to push its lead to the eventual 29-its lackluster defensive effort Saturday resulted in its first loss of the season.
The No. 6 Lady Monarchs (6-1), led by two phenomenal post players-center Clarisse Machanguana and forward Nyree Roberts-effectively shut down Duke with a series of runs: 9-0 and 7-0 during the first stanza, and 11-4 and 12-4 during the second half.
Indeed, Saturday's contest was one in which the Blue Devils' youth and smaller size was certainly felt. In anticipation of Old Dominion's size advantage, Goestenkors started 6-foot-3 freshman forward Jennifer Forte in place of 5-foot-10 freshman guard Missy West.
Six-foot-5 Machanguana and 6-foot-3 Roberts played tough inside games, as neither missed a shot from the floor. When compared to the 8-of-16 shooting by Black-who has been the only true post player for the Blue Devils since senior forward Tye Hall's pelvic injury put her on the bench-Duke's first ranked opponent this season proved to be too much for the Blue Devil squad.
"This was a big change for me and the rest of our team with the level play," Black said. "It was a big adjustment to have to come into this game and have to defend two such great post players because we couldn't give as much help to other post players as we would have like because if we helped on one, then the other one was going to score the points."
Black's performance was further hurt by the fact that she earned two fouls within the first 6:15 of the game, making her and Forte, who also committed two fouls within the same time period, tentative with the ball.
In addition to their foul trouble, the Blue Devils were hindered by ODU's effective bench play. The Lady Monarch bench made an impressive showing-led by forward LaToya Small with 11 points-while helping hold Duke to just 38 percent from the field overall.
Duke gained the lead just once during Saturday's matchup against its toughest competition this season. After going to the locker room down by two, 38-36, the rejuvenated Orr connected from the left baseline for two to knot the game with 19:35 remaining. Within the next minute, Orr hit a three pointer-on which she was 2-of-8 for the night-from the left wing, putting the Blue Devils ahead by three at the 18:40 mark.
But Duke's spark was put out by the dominating Machanguana, whose three layups within 40 seconds put the Lady Monarchs ahead by three and gave them momentum that would last until the end of the game.
"I think [winning] has to do with checking emotion, and we have some very emotional people on our basketball team," ODU coach Wendy Larry said. "And if we're able to check that emotion and not let it get out of hand, and to get very negative-not so much on other people, but on ourselves-we can come out of that slump if you will."
The Old Dominion loss showcased the absence of Hall, as her inside play was sorely missed. Hall, who came off crutches Dec. 2, is slated to come off of the pine in 1-2 weeks. Goestenkors said she hopes to have Hall in the lineup by the time Duke plays Manhattan at home Dec. 21, but added that she may play her a few minutes in this Thursday's contest against Georgia Tech.
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