ATLANTA - The bad news for Georgia Tech wasn't just that Alana Beard was back.
It was that the rest of the cast hasn't gone anywhere.
Beard and fellow freshman Iciss Tillis scored 17 points each to lead four Duke starters in double digits as the No. 4 Blue Devils (22-2, 10-2 ACC) trounced a pesky Georgia Tech team (12-11, 3-9) 74-54 in Alexander Memorial Coliseum last night.
"Now that Alana's back with the rest of our players having all the confidence they gained when she was out of the lineup, we're becoming a better team," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "For the first time this season, we've got four players averaging double digits, that's the type of team we want to be and it's beginning to show."
Sheana Mosch, who averaged 26.5 points a game during Beard's four-game absence, finished with 12 points. Returning ACC player of the year Georgia Schweitzer added 11 in the ACC-leading Blue Devils 16th consecutive win over the last-place Yellow Jackets.
And while Schweitzer might not have had the most points in the game, she made sure they were the loudest.
A three-pointer eight and a half minutes into the second half pushed a Duke lead to 10 and keyed an 18-3 run which finally
The team co-captain then added a short jumper three possessions later to put the Duke lead above 10 for the first time at 54-42 and all but end Georgia Tech's upset hopes.
"We were down [seven] and we felt like we were still in it, and then Schweitzer got fired up," Georgia Tech coach Agnes Berenato said. "She put the team on her back there. The three-pointer was a big play, it was the straw that broke our backs."
But the Yellow Jackets didn't make it as easy as the 20-point margin indicated.
Neisha Butler drained a three-pointer two and a half minutes into the game to give an inspired Yellow Jacket team their first lead of the game at 7-6. Thirty-two seconds later, Mosch hit a driving lay-up to make it their last.
"We came out strong, we felt we could win," Berenato said, "yet we never could get it together."
But the Blue Devils still could not shake a scrappy Yellow Jacket squad.
Despite playing without leading scorer Neisha Butler, who played only three minutes in the first half after picking up two quick fouls, Georgia Tech managed to stay close to Duke. Switching defenses and stalling a Duke attack which lacked its trademark aggressiveness, Georgia Tech managed to go into the half down by just nine points.
"Obviously not having [Butler] hurt them a great deal," Goestenkors said. "We were worried at the half that we only had a nine-point lead and Neisha hadn't played. They weren't going away."
The opening eight minutes of the second half, the Georgia Tech defense kept the Blue Devils in check. But with its offense not responding, the Yellow Jackets were simply treading water.
"We came out of the half fired up and [the coaching staff] felt good about where we were," Berenato said. "We had a series of stops and we held our own, but we couldn't score, we couldn't make headway."
And then Schweitzer sank the Yellow Jackets.
"We wanted to put somebody away tonight," Goestenkors said. "We've had a couple of games where we've let teams get back in the game after we've had a good lead. Tonight we stepped it up in the final eight minutes and finished it."
The Blue Devils move on to face Maryland Monday with a win under their belt following the team's surprise loss to Florida State last week.
"We were a little tentative," Goestenkors said. "There were a few confidence issues, but we worked them out and we're ready to go."
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