UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Late in the first half, the 9,001 Nittany Lions fans in attendance sensed an upset was in the making, but Duke's Crystal ball said otherwise.
Crystal White, who made scant contributions in Duke's first three victories, jump-started the Blue Devils from the defensive end late in the first half. Meanwhile, fellow freshmen Alana Beard and Iciss Tillis each poured in career-highs as No. 3 Duke withheld a few attempts at late-game heroics by No. 9 Penn State last night in an 88-87 thriller at Bryce Jordan Center.
"I just thought it was an excellent basketball game; both teams played with a lot of heart," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "You had a feeling it was going to come down to the last second. We are very excited to come away with a win."
Up by four points with 16.7 seconds left, Duke freshman Rometra Craig floated a lazy pass inbounds that Penn State senior Lisa Shepherd intercepted, dribbled up the floor and heaved toward the basket. The desperate three-point attempt clanked off the backboard, rattled around on the rim and finally sank through the cylinder with 6.2 seconds remaining to give her team one last gasp.
The Blue Devils nearly gave the ball away again on the subsequent inbounds play, as a length-of-the-court pass intended for senior Georgia Schweitzer passed her and into the arms of Craig, who was fouled and given two free throws to ensure no less than a tie. Again, however, the freshman could not put the game away, as she steered both foul shots long off the iron. When the Nittany Lions failed to box out on the rebound attempt, Craig snatched
"How hard is that? The ball is right there, it's a freebie," said a frustrated Rene Portland, now in her 21st year as coach of the Nittany Lions. "Go out and get it, show some heart. Right now, that's a concern."
Penn State ended up out-rebounding the Blue Devils 40-37, but her team's inability to box out in the paint was a point Portland hammered home time and again in the postgame press conference.
"I thought checking out on the foul line, that aspect of the game was awful," Portland said. "We need to develop a heart. There was a time when there were blank stares out there."
But the stares were focused in the final minutes of the game, when Penn State responded to an eight-point deficit with less than three minutes to play. The Blue Devils had seemingly sealed the victory when, with 1:26 remaining, Schweitzer dumped a pass inside to White, who scored on an uncontested lay-up and ran Duke's advantage to seven points, 86-79. Penn State rallied with three free throws and a lay-up before Shepherd buried an improbable three-pointer that could have been the biggest shot of her career.
"It really didn't surprise me, [Shepherd] has hit so many big shots," Goestenkors said. "The way it bounced around, when it went in, it was a little nerve-racking."
Nerves were especially tense on the Blue Devils' bench early in the game, when Penn State jumped out to a 25-15 lead 12 minutes into the game. Duke had trouble executing its offense in the first half, as the team turned the ball over 10 times to only three assists and failed to make a single three-pointer.
Both Beard and Tillis played only seven minutes due to extensive foul trouble, while Schweitzer battled through a funk in which she shot 3-for-13 and committed four turnovers.
Late in the half, as Duke tried to again even the contest, it was an unlikely hero who swung the momentum.
White, who entered the game last night with three minutes left in the first half and her team down by two points, 28-26, helped the Blue Devils draw even for the first time since the score was 5-5 two minutes into the contest. A powerful rejection by White led to an easy transition basket by Rometra Craig to square the game at 28-28 with 2:44 remaining. Less than a minute later, the 6-foot-5 center hauled in an impressive offensive rebound, drew the fourth foul on Penn State forward Kate Upshaw and converted two free throws. White then put the Blue Devils ahead 34-30 with another electrifying blocked shot that led to a coast-to-coast lay-up by Schweitzer.
"I learned that Crystal White can come in and be a presence on the defensive end," Goestenkors said. "The first things she did was come in and block a very big shot and I thought that was a momentum-turner for us."
After White gave the Blue Devils back the lead, they trailed only once, 66-65, the rest of the way. Penn State saw both its 16-game home-winning streak and its mark of 11 consecutive victories in home openers come to an end last night against Duke.
"It could have gone either way and I'm just happy it went the way that it did," Goestenkors said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.