The very same defensive strategy that Marquette used to upset No. 13 Florida in the first game of the Duke Women's Basketball Classic became its undoing when it battled the host Blue Devils in the last.
In both of its games this weekend, the Golden Eagles employed a collapsing zone defense, double-teaming opposing post players while leaving openings on the perimeter.
When it started the tournament Saturday, Marquette held Florida's leading scorer Tonya Washington, who averages 19.2 points per game, to 10 points. Meanwhile, led by guards Kiesha Oliver and Kristi Johnson, the Golden Eagles poured in one three-point shot after another en route to a 77-61 win. Playing against the 20th-ranked Blue Devils for the tournament championship yesterday, however, Marquette found this tactic didn't work.
"Florida played a 2-3 zone," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said of Marquette's upset over the Gators. "It really enabled Marquette to execute their offense, and they just ran the ball and made five, six passes every possession until they got the wide-open shot, and they took that wide-open shot.
"Today they didn't have a lot of open shots. With our pressure-man [defense], they didn't have the same looks as they had yesterday."
After center Michele VanGorp tallied 23 points to carry her team to a 75-47 win over Villanova Saturday, the Golden Eagles clamped down on her, frequently double-teaming and sometimes even triple-teaming the 6-foot-6 center. What they didn't seem to realize, however, was that Duke's backcourt could be just as dangerous as its frontcourt.
Aware that Marquette would play a collapsing zone, the Blue Devils prepared to take advantage of the open looks their guards would be able to find. So when the Golden Eagles neutralized VanGorp, Duke was not at all surprised.
"I knew they were going to play zone, that sagging 2-3 zone made famous by Texas Tech, where they double team your post players," Goestenkors said. "What is open is the guards. We knew it was going to be there, and we came out hot."
Nicole Erickson led the Blue Devils from the perimeter, racking up 18 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc. Coming out of a recent slump, Erickson attributes increased confidence to her improvement yesterday.
"I just started off playing confidently tonight," she said. "If I start that way, I can really set the tone for my game. I'm just feeling better with my performance now.
"Right now it's all mental for me. This year I haven't been aggressive enough at times, waiting for the ball instead of going after my shot."
Erickson wasn't the only Blue Devil hitting shots from downtown either. Naz Medhanie and Krista Gingrich contributed to Duke's barrage from the perimeter, adding three and two trifectas, respectively. With nine minutes to go in the first half, 15 of Duke's 22 points had come from threes.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils stifled the Golden Eagles' backcourt, preventing it from replicating its performance against Florida. Duke held Oliver to two points and Johnson to one assist.
"We were really pleased with the defense tonight, especially in the second half when we extended the defense out and took their guards out of the flow," Goestenkors said.
Finding itself frustrated by Marquette's defense, the Blue Devil frontcourt evaded the pressure and the double teams by passing the ball back out to the guards. Forward Georgia Schweitzer collected three assists on the afternoon, and Rochelle Parent and Payton Black had two apiece, helping Duke's backcourt to capitalize on its open looks.
"[The post players] did a great job tonight [kicking the ball out], and that's exactly what we're going to need from them," Erickson said.
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