A win is a win is a win.
Whether by one or 21, it counts the same in the standings, which is what the women's basketball team has to console itself with after eking out a 77-70 win over Florida State Sunday afternoon at Tully Gymnasium in Tallahassee. The Seminoles entered the game with an 0-10 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference (5-14 overall) and losers of ten straight. No. 22 Duke, now 14-6 overall and 6-4 ACC, was coming off an upset of then 10th-ranked Clemson and record-setting blow-out of Georgia Tech, and had defeated FSU 87-46 on Jan. 3, in Durham.
But with 1:20 remaining in Sunday's contest, the Blue Devils found themselves clinging to a three-point lead, and the Seminoles held the ball with a chance to tie. It took some good help defense from Duke center Tye Hall to create a tie-up situation, and the possession arrow pointed the Blue Devils' way with 44 seconds left in the game.
That's when Kira Orr took over. Duke nearly threw the ball away on the other end of the court, but the Blue Devil guard alertly called a timeout while falling out of bounds. Then, with the shot clock winding down, Orr took a feed from Nazrawit Medhanie, drove baseline past FSU's Latrice McLin, and banked in the shot, giving Duke a five-point cushion with 0:11 remaining.
After the Seminoles missed a desperation three-point attempt, Orr grabbed the rebound and converted both ends of a one-and-one, icing the victory for the Blue Devils.
"This was the best game Florida State has played all year," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I feel lucky that we came away with the win."
Early on in the contest, it looked like the two teams' second match-up of the season would go the same way as the first. With 13:58 left in the first half, the Blue Devils opened up an 18-10 advantage on a three-pointer by Medhanie. FSU refused to go away, though, and went on a 12-0 run over the next 3:27 to grab a 22-18 lead.
The game was tied 31 with two minutes remaining in the half when the Seminoles tallied six unanswered points to take a 37-31 advantage into the locker room, and Duke seemed in danger of becoming FSU's first conference victim.
Just over five minutes into the second half the Blue Devils had come back to tie the game at 46-46 on a Payton Black layup, but couldn't pull away from the Seminoles. They took the lead for good on a Hilary Howard three-pointer with 11:37 remaining and held on for the victory despite several FSU rallies.
After her team fell behind in the first half, Goestenkors said she was more pleased with its play over the final 20 minutes.
Hall led Duke with 23 points and nine rebounds, and Black scored 21 on 10-of-13 shooting as the Blue Devils dominated inside, winning the battle of the boards 38-26.
Orr added 16 points, including the final four of the game. Duke shot 54.2 percent from the floor, making a blistering 64.5 percent of it shots in the second half.
Lysa Moorefield scored 19 for the Seminoles, while Latavia Coleman contributed 18 and Jen Robinson 14. After sinking 54.8 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half, FSU was held to 42.4 percent shooting in the second.
"We looked good on offense," Goestenkors said, "but we have a lot of work to do on defense."
The next test for the Blue Devils, who are currently fourth in the ACC, is a trip to Wake Forest Thursday night. The Demon Deacons are second-to-last in the standings, ahead of only FSU, and lost to Duke 82-70 on Jan. 9, in Durham. Sunday's close call against the Seminoles serves as reminder that as the Blue Devils continue to jockey for position in their talent-laden conference, they can't take any opponent for granted.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.