So far this year, the women's basketball team has played against some of the toughest and most dedicated athletes they will face all season-themselves. Finally, on Friday night, after two and a half weeks of practice, the Blue Devils will get to test their skills against someone else-Russia-Dynamo.
"I think we're excited about getting the chance to beat up on somebody else for a change," coach Gail Goestenkors said.
Duke, which has made three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, will take to the court Friday with a team comprised of plenty of juniors, sophomores and freshmen, but only one senior. This may appear to be quite a young team, but it is certainly not lacking in experience.
Three starters are returning from last year, junior Payton Black at center, junior Hilary Howard at guard and sophomore Peppi Browne at forward. Leadership will be a key factor for this year's team with the loss of last year's scoring leaders, Kira Orr and Tye Hall.
"Hilary is showing a good amount of leadership and Payton is also," Goestenkors said. "Payton leads from the inside and Hilary leads from the outside."
The Blue Devils have two transfers eligible to play this year, junior guard Nicole Erickson and junior center Michele VanGorp, both from Purdue. They will be key in stepping in to fill the void left by the graduation of Orr and Hall.
"I think [Erickson and VanGorp] are going to help us immensely," Goestenkors said. "They offer us immediate experience."
It still remains to be seen how this team will work together with the loss of the point guard, who keeps the team under control. If Erickson can step in and add cohesiveness to this team, then the future looks good. VanGorp will also have to adjust to playing in a game situation with new players for the first time.
Last year's team was ranked in the top 25 for most of the year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils have been working hard and do not plan on doing things too differently from that 19-11 squad of a year ago, except for a few minor adjustments.
"We're going to try and do a better job defensively and on the boards, and take better care of the ball this year than we did last year," Goestenkors said.
Solid defense, good rebounding and ball control are definitely key factors for a team that lost its top two scorers from a year ago. If the opponent does not receive easy chances for baskets that result from offensive rebounds and turnovers, the Blue Devils feel they will greatly improve their chances of winning, no matter how many points they score.
As far as Russia-Dynamo, it is somewhat of a mystery team at the moment. It has yet to play a game, so Goestenkors is not quite sure what to expect from it. No matter what the opponent brings to the court, the Blue Devils will be ready to play. After three weeks of practice, Duke's first exhibition game and chance for early evaluation is just around the corner. Game time is Friday night at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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