SAN JOSE, Calif. - As coach Gail Goestenkors tells the story, Duke's women's basketball players got the chance to set their own goal at the start of the season. The one they decided on was simple but lofty: a national championship.
After a postseason run that included wins over perennial juggernaut Tennessee and fellow SEC power Georgia, the Blue Devils entered Sunday night's game just 40 minutes away from an ending few but themselves thought they could reach. That made Sunday night's 62-45 championship final loss to Purdue even more difficult to swallow.
The locker room reflected equal parts disappointment and frustration. Offensively, it was a night that started off badly and went downhill in the second half.
"The score at the half was ridiculous," said Michele VanGorp, Duke's lone bright spot with 15 points. "Of course we weren't happy with how everything was going. We wanted to go out and play some better basketball.... We didn't do that."
Several players offered theories as to what derailed a Duke attack that looked so fluid in the team's previous two outings. Nicole Erickson gave credit to Purdue's defense, whose switching man-to-man gave the Blue Devils an unfamiliar look and pressure on the ball left them with little time to set up halfcourt sets.
"I felt like we were rushed," she said. "They knew they had to stop us from executing to win. For the most part, they did a really good job of doing that."
Others suggested the Blue Devils were their own worst enemies. The players prided themselves on playing loose against Tennessee and Georgia, insisting the pressure was on the other team.
For the first time Sunday night, the reality of their situation seemed to get to them.
"There was no reason necessarily for us to be nervous," said Peppi Browne in the locker room after the game. "I mean, yes, it's a national championship game, but we played in big games before.
"We were prepared the best we could have been for this game. I really don't know what else to say."
To make matters worse, Erickson said the Blue Devils had a difficult time adjusting to the style of officials Bob Trammell, Melissa Barlow and Teresa Dahlem. VanGorp was whistled for a key offensive foul late in the game, and Erickson fouled out with 2:50 to play.
"I think maybe we were frustrated with all the fouls being called," she said. "I think that would frustrate anybody, especially in a national championship game. The games [Friday] they let everyone play. We expected the game to be called the same way.
"I think it frustrated us, and at times we lost our composure."
Tears overcame several players, just as they had the opponents Duke vanquished on the way to the final. Eventually Howard, one of six seniors making their farewell appearance Sunday night in San Jose, gave one last philosophical spin to the season.
"I feel like we put ourselves on the map," she said. "Of course, it would have been better if we would have won."
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