The women's basketball team had an up-and-down weekend by any standards. Third-ranked Connecticut hammered the fourth-ranked Blue Devils 104-74, but Duke (1-1) rebounded to beat No. 18 Stanford, 77-57.
Even though the Four in the Fall is over, life won't get any easier for the Blue Devils. Tonight at Cameron they will face Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. The Hokies (1-0) enter the game after defeating Liberty, 69-55, in their season opener.
Virginia Tech is not currently ranked, but Duke coach Gail Goestenkors considers the Hokies a legitimate threat.
"People who don't know much about the sport don't consider them a threat," she said. "Right now, I would put them up against Stanford. This will be a very tough game for us.
"They return four starters from last year's team. They beat Wisconsin in the first round before losing to Florida in Florida. We also lost there last season."
The Hokie presenting the greatest problem for the Blue Devils is senior point guard Lisa Witherspoon. She lead Virginia Tech in assists last season, with 7.3 per game, and became the first player in team history to have over 200 assists in a season.
Witherspoon controls the flow of the Hokies' offense; containing her will be crucial to stopping the Hokies.
"Lisa Witherspoon is a tremendous playmaker," Goestenkors said. "She receives the ball very well. Also both she and Katie O'Connor are from North Carolina. So we expect them to give their best performance."
The Hokies tend to spread their scoring evenly among players-in the Liberty game Katie O'Connor scored 14 points while Michelle Houseright and Amy Wetzel each tallied 13.
The Blue Devils may be concerned about their ability to contain Virginia Tech's offense, especially after giving up 104 points against UConn.
Goestenkors felt that the key to halting the Hokies' offense was to avoid focusing on one player.
"They have a very balanced offense," she said. "They have a lot of people who can score. There is not one player we can focus on. The key for us stopping them is team defense."
Goestenkors did not think her team would take the Hokies lightly after contending with opponents in the upper echelons of women's college basketball this past weekend.
"We didn't truly take any joy from the Stanford game," Goestenkors said. "We took a midnight flight out, and I gave them a day off to rest so I haven't talked to the team. But I don't have any concerns about a letdown."
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