Women's hoops visits last-place FSU

There are five women's basketball teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference ranked in the top 25. The Blue Devils can not afford to let their guards down, for in any tight race, the team that finishes atop the conference is the team that avoids being upset by weaker foes.

Enter Florida State. Last in the conference, the Seminoles (5-13, 0-9 ACC) are in the midst of a nine game losing streak. This Sunday, No. 22 Duke (13-6, 5-4) travels to Tallahassee to take on FSU in an attempt to avoid falling behind the pace of the conference's best teams.

"We're at the point in our season now when every game is very important," coach Gail Goestenkors said. "It's tough enough to beat ranked teams, so you can't lose to teams ranked below you. Florida State is a team that's 0-9 in the conference, but they're going to beat somebody."

If the Blue Devils play the way they've played as of late, they believe they can beat Florida State, and any other team in the conference. In short, Duke is on fire, and not because of burning benches. After losing three games in a row, last Friday night the Blue Devils shocked then-No.10 Clemson, beating them 70-61 after trailing by two at halftime. The following Monday, Duke traveled to Georgia Tech and could not miss. The Blue Devils shot a school record 66 percent from the field as senior guard Kira Orr scored 25 points and made six three-pointers, another Duke best. When the barrage was finally over, the Blue Devils had won 83-58.

"We're starting to play with more confidence," Goestenkors said. "I think people are adjusting to their roles a little bit better. When we had a couple of those losses we were still adjusting to getting Tye Hall into the lineup, because it changed our offense quite a bit. When she's in we have two post players. We've gone through that adjustment stage and I think we've gone over the hump."

When the two teams last met back on January 3, Duke dominated the game, winning 87-46. Still, it is difficult to believe that the Blue Devils can win like that again. For one, the rematch will be held at Florida State. Secondly, the Seminoles should be much more comfortable than they were a month ago. Florida State has a new coach this season in Chris Gobrecht who completely changed the team's style of play. Now that the season is halfway through, players should be better adjusted to the more aggressive game plan that Gobrecht has instituted. If Duke were to look past the Seminoles and play sloppily, FSU's hustle defense could cause problems for the Blue Devils.

The Seminoles are a well-balanced team having four players averaging double figures in points. Goestenkors is most fearful of Latavia Coleman. She plays center in the post, but she plays more like a guard, shooting the ball from long range. This type of player is difficult to defend against, and as a result she scored 16 points against Duke last time, including a three pointer. She is only 5-foot-10, however, giving the Blue Devils a tremendous advantage down low in the paint.

Duke plans on playing very aggressive basketball, especially when rebounding. The Blue Devils hope to exploit their size advantage as much as possible. Hall and sophomore Payton Black have been playing very well in the paint so far this season, averaging 17.1 and 16.3 points per game, respectively. The two combine for nearly 12 rebounds every game. Complimenting the two post players is Orr, who's been coming on strong lately, averaging 17 points per game. Leading Duke at point guard is sophomore Hilary Howard. Along with her 8.1 points per game, she leads the Blue Devils with 5.3 assists per game.