After four years of injury-free basketball at Southwood High School in Louisiana, Alana Beard spent the last three weeks learning what it is like to watch games from the sidelines in street clothes.
Unfamiliar as it was, the freshman's long wait on the bench is now over. Tonight, when the Blue Devils (21-1, 9-1 in the ACC) host Florida State (13-8, 5-5) at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium, Beard will return to Duke's starting lineup only 10 days after having the protective cast for her dislocated thumb removed.
"It was terrible; it was a long wait, but it made the team better," said Beard, who has been sidelined since Duke's Jan. 18 game against N.C. State. "I'll take this injury to make the team better. I just look at it as it could have been worse and God does everything for a reason."
Without Beard's team-leading 16.8 points per game, sophomore Sheana Mosch picked her game up to a new level. Ten games into the conference season, Mosch currently leads the ACC in field goal percentage (60.4) after scoring an average of more than 23 points since Duke's nail-biting victory over the Wolfpack. Mosch's rise to superstardom in the ACC resulted from a startling increase in aggressiveness by the shooting guard, who picked up the scoring mantle in her teammate's absence.
Although it seemed unlikely three weeks ago, Duke stayed the course without Beard and went a perfect 4-0 during a difficult stretch that included Virginia, North Carolina and Clemson.
"She has seen our team do well without her so she doesn't feel like she's let the team down," said coach Gail Goestenkors, who added that Beard has been playing with a lot of energy in practice, especially on the defensive end.
Beard recovered rather quickly, as she was able to run only a couple days after dislocating her thumb without risk of reinjury. Since the injury was to her non-shooting hand, the Blue Devil freshman was also able to work on her jump shot, with extra emphasis placed on moving to her left. Joe Angus, trainer for the women's basketball program, said Beard will wear a fiberglass splint until the conclusion of the ACC tournament in order to prevent the thumb from bending outward, which could potentially tear out her stitches.
While her team showed a considerable improvement that culminated in a 50-point romp 11 days ago, Beard also noted upgrades in her own game. Still, the forward who began the season on a torrid scoring spree underscored that she has no intention of disrupting the flow her team has developed the past few weeks.
"I just want to come in and play within the context of the offense," Beard said. "I want to work my way back slowly, nothing spectacular."
The spotlight may be on Beard tonight, but the key for Duke could be the matchup between fellow freshman Iciss Tillis and her Florida State counterpart Brooke Wyckoff.
The last time the two programs squared off, Tillis stepped out from the low post and unloaded a pair of game-breaking three-pointers over Wyckoff that turned a tight game into a 13-point Duke victory. Recently, however, it has been Wyckoff who has been lighting up the scoreboard. During Florida State's 20-point blowout of Georgia Tech Monday night, the Seminoles' senior tallied a career-high 30 points on 3-for-6 three-point shooting.
"[Florida State's] seniors in particular are putting the team on their shoulders and trying to carry them into the NCAA tournament," said Goestenkors, whose team has had a week of rest since defeating Wake Forest by eight points last Thursday in Winston-Salem.
Note: Krista Gingrich, who has been recovering the last six weeks from a pair of calf injuries, has also been cleared by the medical staff, but Goestenkors said she will not play the junior point guard until she has more time to get into game shape.
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