Freshmen, defense lead to rout

Duke freshmen 48, William & Mary 46. Four freshmen-Rometra Craig, Alana Beard, Iciss Tillis and Vicki Krapohl-outscored the entire William & Mary team Saturday night as the Blue Devils romped to an 81-46 victory.

The second half was played under a cloud for Duke because senior guard Georgia Schweitzer remained on the bench with what team doctors believed was a separated shoulder.

Early in the game, it looked as though the underdog Tribe might be able to hang with the Blue Devils. After four minutes of play, William & Mary was winning 6-5. Then, Tillis drained a three-pointer, Duke went on a nine-point run and the game would never be in question again.

After the Tribe's Lauren Brooker scored to make it 14-8 in favor of Duke, Craig took the game over. In the space of five minutes, she scored 12 points. First, she sunk a three-pointer. On the next possession, Craig stole the ball from William & Mary point guard Jen Sobota in the backcourt and bolted toward the basket for an apparent layup before losing control as the ball flew out of bounds. After another William & Mary turnover, Craig scored again on a mid-range jumper.

The Tribe attempted to answer, scoring a basket and cutting Duke's lead to eight at 19-11. Sheana Mosch ran the ball downcourt and drove for a quick layup to begin a 14-point run. Then Craig hit another three-pointer. On the next possession, she stole the ball and after a give-and-go with Tillis scored a breakaway layup. Before William & Mary scored again, Craig would get another jumper in transition after a pass from Krapohl.

"I was thinking, 'Hit the open shot,' because my team was doing a great job of swinging the ball around to me," Craig said.

All told, during the 10 minutes after Tillis's three-pointer, the Blue Devils outscored the Tribe 28-5.

There was, however, a scary moment for Duke in the first half. On a play in the middle of the half, Schweitzer fell to the ground hard, likely separating her shoulder. The gritty senior got back up and played for a series before going to the bench, but went to the lockerroom late in the half for examination. After returning to the bench at the start of the second half, she appeared antsy and clearly wanted to return to the court.

Beard played like the amazingly talented freshman that she is-she had moments of greatness and moments she would probably like to have back. She scored 14 points, despite missing all of her three-point attempts. She had six assists, but five turnovers. She made two especially glaring mistakes in the second half when she made long passes in transition to defenders. She did come away with five steals, including a number where she challenged the point guard one-on-one at halfcourt.

Senior Missy West started in place of Schweitzer in the second half. She scored 13 points in the game, and had six steals. After Schweitzer went down, Krapohl played the point and directed the team. She responded admirably, dishing four assists without making any turnovers. Her statline included three steals, but that number does not do justice to her defense, as she forced several steals that were credited to other people.

"Being a freshman, [running the team] is a new step for me," Krapohl said after the game. "My confidence grew a little tonight."

Throughout the game, Duke showed how much taller and quicker it was compared to its opponent. On offense, the Blue Devils could pass over the smaller Tribe with impunity. On defense, their amazing quickness clogged the passing lanes and led to the 32 William & Mary turnovers.

"I think what is so great about [Duke] is they have so many players who can play the positions one through four," William & Mary coach Debbie Taylor said. "Anybody can bring the ball up court, and a 6-foot-2 player can step out and hit the three. They're so hard to match up with because they are so versatile."