Duke tightened up its defense in the second half but struggled on offense after the break

Going into the season, Gail Goestenkors knew it would be a struggle coaching a squad that lost six seniors and welcomed five freshmen.

She just didn't know she would wind up coaching four different teams.

Last night, a porous first-half defense turned into a suffocating second-half defense, while an effective first-half offense turned predictable and uninspiring in the second half. The end result was another learning experience marred by inconsistency and a second-round exit in the preseason Women's NIT.

Boston College senior Cal Bouchard might have been suffering from a head cold all game, but there was absolutely nothing cold about her shot. Bouchard's blistering first-half shooting, however, received some major help from a Duke defense that may still be rotating to cover the open guard.

Before the final notes of "The Star-Spangled Banner" had faded into the sparse Cameron crowd, Bouchard had drilled three three-pointers from nearly the same spot on the floor. And on all three shots, Bouchard didn't have a Duke defender in her sights.

The same trapping defense that had stifled Chamique Holdsclaw and Kelly Miller last season now couldn't find a way to cover a spot-up shooter still recovering from a torn ACL. The same defense that had pressured Tennessee into a 26-for-69 performance from the field last year saw Boston College hit 18-of-29 shots in the first 20 minutes.

Of course, about the only things that have remained the same from last year's Duke defense are the letters written across the front of the jerseys. The opposing ball-handler no longer faced the ball pressure of a Hilary Howard or a Nicole Erickson. The opposing posts no longer dealt with the presence of 6-foot-6 Michele VanGorp.

One animated halftime lecture on defense later, the Blue Devils returned a different defensive unit to the floor, holding the Eagles to just 25 percent shooting and not allowing Bouchard an open look for the next 17 minutes.

"We have to understand we're not a team that's going to go one-on-one with people," Goestenkors said. "We're a team that has to execute offensively and that's where we're going to find success."

And just as Duke took a late three-point lead on a pair of Michele Matyasovsky baskets created by movement and two nice passes from Lauren Rice and Krista Gingrich, the Blue Devils' inexperience showed again.

Instead of forcing the Eagles to make a play, Gingrich fouled Bouchard on the perimeter and allowed Boston College to get back into the game from the line. And on Duke's next four offensive possessions, all it could muster were two hurried jumpers from Schweitzer, a hurried penetration from Gingrich and an errant putback from Matyasovsky.

"We learned to have a little more patience offensively," forward Rochelle Parent said. "Defensively, we're now going to focus on helping each other out a lot more. It was good to come down and be up at the end of the game and lose that lead.

"Now I think we'll be more disciplined when it comes down to the wire in the next game."