GREENSBORO, N.C. - With over 14 minutes left in the contest, the Blue Devils' third-team All-America center Michele VanGorp picked up her fourth foul going after the rebound of a missed three-pointer by Georgia Schweitzer.
As VanGorp trudged to the Duke bench, a slight, but undeniable smile crept across Old Dominion coach Wendy Larry's face. Perhaps she sensed what the ODU faithful in the arena sensed-that the time was ripe for the Lady Monarchs to mount their comeback and erase Duke's nine-point lead.
Someone forgot to tell the Blue Devils that they were supposed to struggle without their leading scorer and inside presence.
Spearheaded by the play of Nicole Erickson and VanGorp's replacements in the middle, Peppi Browne and Lauren Rice, the Blue Devils refused to let ODU take control of the game, and when VanGorp checked back into the game seven minutes later, the Monarchs still stared up at a seven-point Duke lead.
"When she picked up her fourth, we were having a hard time getting the ball
Not only did the Blue Devils not panic, they continued to do the same thing they had done all game, giving one of their best performances of the season without much offensive help from their best player, VanGorp.
After VanGorp left the game, the Monarchs no longer cheated towards the paint on defense and were forced to play man-to-man. The Blue Devils found enough space to penetrate the lane and swing the ball to players left open by converging defenders.
"When Michele picked up her fourth foul, we weren't worried at all," coach Gail Goestenkors said. "As a matter of fact, I think it helped us in that we were able to spread out the floor a little bit. That's really when Nicole [Erickson] got some open looks because we penetrated, kicked the ball to her for the open shot, and she knocked it down."
After Browne made a steal and lay-up to make it an 11-point ball game 39 seconds after VanGorp's departure, Erickson scored the next seven Duke points to keep Duke's lead in double digits. A pivotal three-pointer from the left corner, created by Rochelle Parent's penetration and kick-out pass, culminated Erickson's scoring spurt.
Even after VanGorp's return, the Blue Devils continued their attack philosophy on offense, slashing toward the basket and finding open players. With her team up by seven and 2:33 left in the game, Rice received a pass on the perimeter, cut towards the paint and found Erickson again on the baseline for a three-pointer that plunged the knife into ODU's hopes of a comeback
Two possessions later, Rice twisted the knife by banking in a three-pointer that was again created by a penetration and dish from Hilary Howard, punctuating an outstanding second half for the Duke offense that saw all of two points from its leading scorer.
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