CLEMSON, S.C. - Instead of candy or flowers for Valentine's Day, the women's basketball team was hoping for another victory to continue a school-record winning streak and a drive for an undefeated ACC season.
It turns out Littlejohn Coliseum was not the best place to spend the holiday. The Clemson Tigers showed the Blue Devils anything but love by spoiling their day and their streak with an 80-75 defeat.
"It felt like they hit so many shots at the buzzer there when we were trying to make our comeback," said Duke coach Gail Goestenkors, who watched her team fall behind early for the third straight road game. "Every time we got close it seems like we just couldn't get over that hump."
Despite a second-half run spurred by a career-high 35 points from Michele VanGorp, Duke (21-5, 13-1 in the ACC) could never quite catch the hot-shooting Tigers (20-5, 10-5), who finished the game at exactly 50 percent from the floor.
The Blue Devils got within two points several times in the middle stages of the second half by feeding the ball inside on nearly every trip down the floor. But Clemson seniors Natasha Anderson and Itoro Umoh, playing their final game on their home floor, were able to follow every VanGorp bucket with one of their own.
"I thought Tasha Anderson answered," Clemson coach Jim Davis said. "When they
Two consecutive buckets by VanGorp made it 68-67 at the final media timeout, but the Blue Devils turned it over on a shot clock violation and Umoh scored five straight points to give the Tigers some breathing room.
It remained a two-possession game in the final minute thanks to consecutive threes by Hilary Howard and Georgia Schweitzer, but Duke was forced to foul Umoh several times and she sealed the game from the line.
"I knew sooner or later I would have to go to the line," said Umoh, a 71-percent free-throw shooter. "They had 10 fouls so we had to shoot two. When I missed the first one, I had to make the second one-it was a must."
Duke's offense struggled through a sluggish first half eerily similar to their last two road outings. Shooting just 11-for-30 from the floor, the Blue Devils used strong offensive rebounding to keep the game relatively close.
A 10-4 Duke run to close the first half that included a three by Howard made the score 43-30 at the half. Wary of a second-half barrage of threes like the one that buried Clemson at Cameron in January, Davis chose to stick to man-to-man defense even after VanGorp started heating up.
"You've got to stick to the game plan, and we
"Even though it was scary there for a while, it worked out. They made me look like I knew what I was doing."
Umoh and Anderson finished with 24 points each. Amy Geren shot an uncharacteristic 1-for-6 from three-point range but still managed 11 points, while Nikki Blassingame added nine points and nine boards.
Schweitzer was one of only two Blue Devils in double digits, scoring 13 of her 16 points in the second half. Duke starters Howard, Nicole Erickson and Peppi Browne shot a combined 6-for-29 from the floor.
VanGorp led all players with 11 rebounds, also a career high.
The loss stopped the Blue Devils one game shy of tying the record for consecutive ACC regular season victories and brought an end to the rampant speculation over a possible undefeated run through the league. But contrary to popular opinion, Goestenkors said the pressure on her and her players has not decreased.
"Now I feel more pressure to be honest with you," she said. "I didn't feel pressure before this game-we had wrapped up the ACC. Whenever you lose a game, you feel more pressure because you need to come back and win. I think I feel more pressure now than I have all season long."
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