There once was a time when the Spartans were the most feared group on the planet-of course, back then they were fighting the Athenians.
However, the Spartans that invade Cameron tonight (some 2407 years after the defeat of Athens) for the Duke women's basketball season opener, the North Carolina-Greensboro Spartans, will be a much less feared version. Although the Duke women won't face the champions of the Pelopponesian League, point guard Hilary Howard feels that the Big South champions will nonetheless provide an adequate challenge.
"They're a talented team," Howard said. "We played them last year, and they gave us a good game. We expect them to be aggressive and take the game to us."
Duke should again be able to take the game right back to UNC-G as it did in last year's 98-68 victory in Greensboro. But don't expect the Blue Devils to hide behind the wooden walls of their past achievements even after beating a talented Hungary team in their final exhibition matchup.
"We're pretty confident because we have played well," Howard said. "We played well in our last exhibition game. We had a good week of practice. We're not taking any teams for granted, but we're pretty confident going into the opener."
On paper, the Spartans are not a team to be taken lightly. They reeled off a 20-9 season last year, including a 13-1 record in the Big South Conference and a trip to the Big South tournament finals. With a small, quick lineup featuring four starters from last year's squad, UNC-G could prove to be a real test for Duke.
"They like to push the ball, but they're very well disciplined; they're a very well-coached team," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "But they are smaller than we are. They play basically four guards at a time. "
Of course, it may not be the four guards so much as the one forward that will give the Blue Devils the most trouble. Spearheading the Spartan attack is power forward Rebecca Viverette, who led the Spartans to a season-opening victory over the North Carolina-Asheville with an outstanding 28-point, 11-rebound performance.
The senior co-captain is the most versatile player on the team, with a game that features an outside shot, exceptional ability to penetrate, and a keen passing eye. According to Goestenkors, how her team matches up with Viverette will be a big factor in the game.
"One of our posts is going to have to go out and defend her," Goestenkors said. "So that's going to be a difficult matchup. We have to take advantage of that on the offensive end of the floor and really attack [Viverette] on the block."
In the absence of last year's leading rebounder, junior center Payton Black, that onus will fall squarely upon the shoulders of 6-foot-6 centerMichele VanGorp. Black, who averaged 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds a contest last year, will sit out this week's games due to an off-court injury that resulted in eight stitches in her right hand.
"I think just everyone has to make more of an effort to go to the boards and get some extra rebounds," Howard said. "Because in Payton we're losing one of our best rebounders."
VanGorp has proven herself more than able to take care of the post, producing a team-high 14 points and 10 rebounds in Duke's exhibition opener against Moscow-Dynamo. Sophomore Peppi Browne, fully recovered from an ankle sprain last week, can take some of the rebounding pressure off of VanGorp.
Browne and VanGorp will also have the duty of stopping the Spartan's one true center, 6-2 Biz Brediger. The other co-captain, Brediger led the team last year in rebounds with a 6.1 boards per game while scoring 10.7 points a contest. How well Duke is able to dominate the low post and take advantage of the much shorter Spartans is perhaps the most important factor for Duke tonight.
"I think [the play in the post] is going to be huge," Goestenkors said. "I'm anxious to see our defense and how we've progressed, because this team executes very, very well. Last year they shot 47% and we beat them [by] 30 points. Usually when you beat a team by thirty points you really hold their offensive percentages down, and we didn't. I'm anxious to see if we can do a better job this year on their post, because it was a small post player that scored 28 points on us last year."
Though it may be hard to do better than last year's shellacking in Greensboro, one advantage the Blue Devils will have over last year's squad is depth. Duke's bench combined for 54 of the Devil's 99 points against Hungary, keyed by the explosion of sophomore Lauren Rice for a career-high 23 points. This balanced scoring attack is a trend that both coaches and players see continuing throughout the season.
"I think [the deep bench and balanced scoring] will continue," Goestenkors said. "This is the deepest bench we've ever had. I feel very good about playing anybody in the game and not having a huge dropoff in intensity. I like a balanced team. It's tough to defend. "
Expectations are high in the Blue Devil camp following an exhibition season described by coach Goestenkors as a "tremendous experience," and Duke is more than ready to kick off the season.
"We're real excited to start off the season," Howard said. "I think its going to be an intense game. UNC-G is an aggressive opponent, I think it will be a great battle."
Note: Sophomore guard Missy West will sit out due to a continuing knee injury. According to Goestenkors, Black is questionable for tonight but likely to return soon.
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