Players other than Schweitzer step up late in game for Duke

BLACKSBURG, Va. - When the Georgia Schweitzer show rolls into town, sometimes all you can do is sit back and watch.

Opponents, opposing coaches, fans, teammates, it's all the same. When every miss suddenly warrants a red flag no matter where it was from, or when she launches personal 8-0 runs like she did against Virginia Sunday, sometimes all you can do is watch.

But when red-hot meets ice-cold, sitting and watching is like walking through a minefield blindfolded.

Of course, it doesn't happen often. Career night has become a synonym for day at the office for Schweitzer, and the preseason mystery of who exactly would step up to lead this team seems about as pertinent as debating whether or not the Earth is flat.

But a funny thing happened to Duke's wonder woman on her way to another career evening last night-she suddenly came down with a case of mortality.

Schweitzer got her career night eventually-six free throws in the final two minutes ensured that-but when a final Hokie push had pulled Virginia Tech to within a single point, the closest it had been since a 2-2 tie, Schweitzer was nowhere to be found.

After putting up 21 points in the first 26 minutes of the game on 9-of-11 shooting-including all of Duke's five points before the 11:56 mark in the second half-Schweitzer went ice cold.

Duke's leading scorer missed her next four field goal attempts, misfiring from anywhere and everywhere. And the fate of the Blue Devils followed.

"She's a calming effect on our team," coach Gail Goestenkors said. "When Virginia Tech made a run, she'd be there."

And be it a rebound, a shot or simply a good decision with the basketball, Schweitzer kept Duke alive for the first 26 minutes.

In the first half, she was simply unstoppable-16 points on near-perfect shooting. In the second half, the Hokies tried to keep the ball out of her hands, denying her the pass, but when the shot mattered, the ball was in Schweitzer's hands and the points were on the board.

She ended the Blue Devils five-minute scoring drought to start the second half with a three-point play that turned a shaky five-point advantage back into an eight-point lead, which silenced the raucous crowd of 4,758.

And when an Amy Wetzel layup immediately threatened to shift momentum back to the Hokies, Schweitzer answered with a layup of her own.

But Virginia Tech wasn't through, and Goestenkors knew it.

What she didn't know is that she'd have to answer those runs with her star player unable to pick up a field goal.

But what she found out was more important than any career night.

Virginia Tech launched the run with an Amy Wetzel three-pointer that cut the lead to 10 with 11 minutes to play. Six free throws and two three-pointers later the Duke advantage was one point with 4:33 left.

A disorganized Duke squandered possession after possession, scoring just three times in the middle of the Hokies' six-and-a-half-minute run.

Without Schweitzer's scoring threat, Duke rushed to put points on the board, firing up ill-advised shots or simply turning the ball over. So when the Hokies marched the ball down the court to a chorus of cheers from the Cassell Stadium crowd, taking the lead seemed just as inevitable as winning the game.

But after Rochelle Parent stole the ball from Amy Lipton and called a 20-second timeout to retain possession, what happened next might have been the biggest step this team will take all year.

Coming out of the timeout, the Blue Devils regrouped themselves and Krista Gingrich buried an open three-pointer.

"I knew that if someone didn't take it, we were going to start playing tentatively," Gingrich said. "When I was open, I knew I had to step up and take it."

Lauren Rice immediately followed with a layup and Peppi Browne took over the low post.

"Peppi Browne killed us in the second half," Virginia Tech coach Bonnie Hendrickson said. "If she didn't get it, she tipped it. We didn't match her athleticism or her intensity."

For a team that has been able to sit back and enjoy the show, there might be nothing more important than learning how to win when the show is faltering.

"It is huge for us [to have other people step up]," Goestenkors said. "We do a great job of getting someone the ball when they're hot, but we have to be prepared because everybody has their ups and downs. Georgia isn't always going to be on."

And by the time Schweitzer scored again, the game was already over.