Don't blame Clemson for leaving women's basketball center Tye Hall open on occasions in the second half. Everyone in the stands wondered where that athletic scoring machine wearing a Duke number 24 jersey came from.
From mere invisibility to sheer invincibility, Hall completed a Lazarus-like turn-about in the second half of Friday night's crucial Atlantic Coast Conference contest versus Clemson. Shaking off a zero-point, two-rebound first half, Hall shot seven-for-ten from the floor on her way to an 18-point, seven-rebound second half, leading the 24th-ranked Blue Devils (12-6, 4-4 in the ACC) to a 70-61 upset over no. 10 Clemson (14-4, 5-4) in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"We knew we had lost three straight, and that was on our minds, Hall said. "I don't know if we came out in the beginning with that [must-win] attitude. When [coach] reiterated that at halftime, a different feeling came over us."
Being fortunate to trail by only two at halftime, the Blue Devils came out of the locker room energized, yet Clemson withstood the initial intensity, and eventually rebuilt a 51-44 lead with 10:30 left.
However, Clemson center Jaci Stimson no longer imposed her will inside as she had done in the first half. Tiger scoring came on mostly outside jumpers with a Duke player or two hanging around the shooter.
"[Duke] encouraged us, and we kind of fell into the trap of becoming a jump shooting team in the second half," Clemson coach Jim Davis said. "They were backing off a step, and making it difficult for us to throw the ball by them. As a result, we didn't get the ball inside enough."
Eventually, the outside shots stopped falling for Clemson, and Duke began to capitalize on its possessions. The Blue Devils switched to a high-low post offense, where sophomore center Payton Black and Hall were better able to showcase their quickness and shooting ability.
Hall and Black scored eight of Duke's 10 points in under three minute minutes as the
"When I got that pass, I really concentrated on gathering myself, using the pump-fake, drawing the foul, and making the easy basket," Black said. "All the emotion just came from finally being on the winning end of the score, and finally making a shot that I had been missing for so long."
Even more surprising is that the run came with senior guard Kira Orr sidelined with four fouls.
"The biggest key to the game was when [Orr] went out with her fourth foul, we played with them the rest of the way," coach Gail Goestenkors said. "That says a lot for the rest of our team that we didn't lose confidence."
With Hall and Black continuing to work their magic inside, the teams traded baskets until Orr re-entered the game with four minutes remaining. Orr then gave the Blue Devils the lead for good at 62-61 with a three-pointer from the top of the key with three minutes left.
After a Clemson turnover, Browne made perhaps the biggest play in her young collegiate career. On previous possessions, Browne seemed tentative to shoot or penetrate when left open on the perimeter. Thus when Browne again found herself open on the perimeter, everyone expected another pass. However, Browne slashed towards the basket and knocked down a floater from the free-throw line.
"There was a big hole around the free-throw line," Browne said. "I just went to draw the defense, luckily, I got by my player. After the first half, I was asking myself, 'what am I doing?" I only drove once or twice to the basket.
Riding the momentum, the Blue Devils finished the game with a 13-0 run. Davis offered a simple explanation for what happened in the second half.
"Payton and Tye just whipped our fannies," he said. "Their execution, shooting ability, and the high-low game just wore us out."
Early on, it appeared Duke would be the team being worn out, as Clemson used their size to stake an early ten point lead.
The first half was plagued by sloppy ball-handling on both sides, as the two teams combined for 19 turnovers. Much like their previous two contests, the opposing post player had their way inside offensively against Duke's slender posts. Stimson scored at will in the first half, scoring 11 points by out muscling the Blue Devils inside.
"In the first half, we didn't play with the intensity we needed, considering the situation we were in," Goestenkors said. "We were not playing like we had our backs against the wall, fighting for our lives."
Perhaps that sense of urgency began to set in with 4:30 left in the first half with Duke down 27-18. Freshman Peppi Browne, who had played a brilliant defensive game, ignited a 9-2 run to close the half. After converting two free throws, Browne handed out three assists to close the half, including two beautiful looks inside to Black.
Black led the team in scoring with 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Orr chipped in with 15 points, including three of seven from long range. Though her defensive presence did not show up on the stat sheet, Browne's six rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers did.
Duke also held Clemson's leading scorer Itoro Umoh to only six points and one assist. One negative coming out of the game was the lackluster play of the Blue Devil bench, who combined for seven points and two rebounds.
However, Goestenkors will have an opportunity to afford the bench more playing time as Duke enters the only 'easy' stretch on their conference schedule with five non-ranked teams on the upcoming slate.
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