CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - For three straight years, Duke's women's basketball team has started out 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils' mark in the second round, however, has also been consistent-three straight losses.
Last weekend, history repeated itself for Duke, as it fell 85-67 to Illinois after a dramatic win over DePaul in the first round.
"That's just basketball," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "To go to the NCAA Tournament three times in a row and to win your first round three years in a row is something really, really special. I'm very pleased with my seniors and with my team."
In last Sunday's second round game, Duke only trailed the Illini by one at the half, but fell behind quickly to start the second stanza. Illinois went on an 11-2 run after the break to take a 41-31 lead.
Duke later climbed back within five on a jumper and a three-pointer by senior Kira Orr with 13:14 left, but the Blue Devils lost their momentum and couldn't pull any closer.
"Illinois' depth was the key," Orr said. "We had a tough game in the first round, and we did get some rest, but when [Illinois is] subbing in constantly, it takes its toll. We just ran out of gas towards the end. We gave it everything we had, but we just didn't have that little something extra that we needed to pull out the win."
Seniors Orr and Tye Hall seemed to sense the urgency of the situation against Illinois, as they picked up their play while the rest of the team struggled. Orr and Hall accounted for every Blue Devil point in the second half until the game's outcome had been determined. They combined to score all 23 Duke points until only five minutes remained in their season.
Orr finished with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Hall added 17 points-14 in the second half.
"We did not want our careers to end," Orr said. "Tye and I had watched the men's game earlier in the day before we played, and we saw [senior] Jeff [Capel] play a tremendous game and how hurt he was after [the Blue Devils lost 98-87 to Providence in the second round of the men's NCAA Tournament].
"We wanted to make sure we were not like Jeff. We didn't want to feel that and have to face that this would be the last time we'd be playing in a Duke uniform. So we gave all that we had out there, but there's only so much heart you can give."
The play of the Duke seniors was not enough to overcome the performance by All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year Ashley Berggren. Berggren, who had hoped to come to Duke as a high school senior but was denied academic admission, led the Illini with 18 points-12 in the second half-and 13 rebounds.
Her offense and the physical play of the Illini helped lead to a defensive collapse for the Blue Devils, who committed 21 fouls in the second half. Illinois compounded the problem for Duke by swishing a stellar 30-of-33 free throws in the second half to put the game out of reach.
"It was pretty physical," Illinois center Alicia Sheeler said. "But I think we did [dominate Duke on the inside]. I think we held up pretty well and just kept doing what we needed to do."
In losing to Illinois, the Blue Devils were denied on their quest to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
Two years ago, Duke succumbed to Alabama 121-120 in quadruple overtime in a game that saw nine NCAA records fall. Then last year, Duke fell to 12th-seeded San Francisco 64-60 despite hosting the game in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The loss to Illinois also prevented the Blue Devils from attaining 20 wins for the third season in a row, which would have been a school record.
"When you make it to the NCAAs, you know that you're gonna be facing tough opponents who were near the top in their conferences," Orr said. "So you know you can lose at any time. Unfortunately, for three years in a row, we've come up against a very tough team in the second round. They were all very formidable opponents who just outplayed us."
Duke had to muster up all of its energy in its first round game against a DePaul team that featured Conference USA Player of the Year Kim Williams, who was second in the nation in scoring this season with 25.2 points per game. DePaul also featured a front court with two centers-one of whom was second in the country in rebounds, the other of whom was second nationally in blocked shots.
However, it was Orr to the rescue for the Blue Devils again, as she brought the team back from deficits of at least seven points in each half and helped Duke pull out the 70-56 win.
After the first eight minutes of the game, DePaul had jumped out to a 15-7 lead, but Orr calmly sank a trey from the right corner to kick-start Duke's offense and break the school record for three-pointers in a season. The Blue Devils then scored six of the next eight points to pull within one before they eventually took the lead with two minutes left in the half on an Orr drive.
The Blue Demons again caught fire in the second half, as they went on a 14-5 run and took a seven-point lead with 13:28 remaining.
But then Orr and freshman Peppi Browne began penetrating through DePaul's defense and creating opportunities for the Blue Devils' offense. Duke outscored DePaul 35-14 in the last 12 minutes to run away with the first round. Orr finished with 20 points, while Hall added 18.
"I'm very proud of Kira Orr," Goestenkors said. "I felt there was a time, when we were down [seven] points [in the second half], and it was a tough situation for us. And she would not let us lose, basically. She started attacking the basket, drawing some fouls and getting to the free throw line. And, really, I think that was the difference in the game. You could feel the momentum switch."
The Blue Devils did not have enough momentum to keep their winning ways through the second round. However, compared to Duke's status as a perennial basement-dweller prior to the arrival of seniors Orr, Hall and Windsor Coggershall, Goestenkors considers this year's Blue Devils successful.
"Five years ago, we were at the very bottom of the ACC, last place in the ACC," Goestenkors said. "And with the help of [Orr and Hall], who have been tremendous role models, tremendous athletes, tremendous students, they've taken us to the top. We've been able to win 20 games the last two years. And not many teams get to go to the NCAA tournament three years in a row, and we did it. And we'll be back."
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