After a long talk with her team, North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell somberly made her way to the press table and tried to describe the massacre she had just witnessed.
She saw her team lose to the ninth-ranked Blue Devils 101-58 in the Tar Heels' worst loss since 1990. She said there was very little to say after a game like this one, noting that "it was a game I'll remember for a long time."
But then, at the very end of her press conference, Hatchell said something that although a bit confusing, was the perfect way to describe Duke's offensive attack.
"They do what they're capable of doing and do it well," the coach said. "They don't try to do what they can't do, and they do what they're capable of well."
Duke never once tried to play outside of its game. The Blue Devils simply worked within their offense about as efficiently as they have ever done this year. Duke drove the ball, executed well-timed cuts, shot open jump shots and very rarely rushed a possession.
What the Blue Devils were last night, especially in the first half, approached perfection. While building a 30-point half time lead, Duke made
"It was a great team effort," Blue Devil coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Almost every basket was an assisted basket, which is very, very impressive and shows the unselfishness of our team.... It was the most complete game we've played."
Before last night's romping of the Heels, Goestenkors said she felt her team was playing impatiently on offense. She said her players were rushing possessions, leading to ill-advised shots or careless turnovers. Last night, there was none of that.
The Blue Devils waited for their opportunity to strike, and when it came, they didn't miss. Duke shot a season-high 67 percent from the floor in the first half. If the opportunity to strike wasn't there, the Blue Devils made the extra pass and waited for opportunity to knock.
Duke realizes it doesn't have a dominating player who it can isolate one-on-one. It doesn't have a Michele VanGorp, who last year could barge inside and demand the ball. Instead, this year's Blue Devils pass the ball around and use everyone-last night, five players scored in double-digits.
"Tonight we played a great game," Goestenkors said. "Everybody got involved, everybody did their part. It wasn't just one person, it was a great team effort. I'm very, very proud of the team."
But the execution wasn't limited to the offense. The Tar Heels entered the game with the ACC's two leading rebounders, but left the floor with a season-low 27 rebounds.
Lauren Rice is not exactly a bruiser, but she efficiently boxed out and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Duke guards Georgia Schweitzer, Krista Gingrich and Shaena Mosch combined for 10 boards.
"They all get in there and battle on the boards," Hatchell said. "The most impressive thing about them is they're not that big, but they get in there and really battle inside."
Hatchell was surprised that a team so small could grab so many boards, but this year's Duke team is full of surprises. On paper, the Blue Devils don't really command that much respect. But once they're on the floor working as a unit, they're very tough to beat.
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