SPOKANE, Wash. - A team so accustomed to finding a way-any way-this season found none Saturday night.
Throughout the most successful season in program history, fifth-ranked Duke (30-4) did whatever it took to scrape out nail-biting victories over teams with equal determination, equal enthusiasm and perhaps even equal talent. Seven times this season, the Blue Devils triumphed in the game's final seconds, winning either in overtime or by five points or less in regulation.
When they needed a game-ending stand the most, however, the top-seeded Blue Devils were unable to stall the relentless attack of fifth-seeded Southwest Missouri State (28-5), which ended Duke's NCAA tournament run with an 81-71 upset in the Sweet 16 Saturday night in Spokane Arena. Jackie Stiles scored 41 points on 15-of-22 shooting as she placed herself second all-time in West Regional single-game scoring.
Led by their 5-foot-8 guard, the underdog Bears knocked out a championship contender for the second straight game Saturday, following up their surprise of fourth-seeded Rutgers with the stunner over the Blue Devils. In a matter of one week, SMS went from a one-name program headlined by Stiles to a dangerous foe that no favored team wants to face.
"I just want to congratulate [coach] Cheryl Burnett and Southwest Missouri State University. I thought they played a fantastic basketball game," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "We knew they were great coming in and we knew Jackie Stiles was awesome. We had the utmost respect for them coming into the game, and we have even more respect for them now."
Respect has been a frequently used
"I put one word on the bulletin board before the game, and it was ego," Burnett said. "Ego means you're good and you know you're good, and you've got to play like that."
Early in the game, the Bears did not seem to heed their coach's message, as their walk was not one of champions, but merely challengers. Duke built a 32-20 lead 12 minutes into the game and compelled Burnett to burn her team's second timeout of the game.
But in those precious seconds on the sideline, Burnett pushed the right buttons and the Blue Devils, despite their lead, never again seemed in command. By halftime, their margin was cut in half, 42-36.
"I thought we were in pretty good condition at halftime," point guard Georgia Schweitzer said. "I felt like we weren't playing that well, but I felt we would play a lot better."
That would not have been surprising, as Duke has often played its best basketball in the second half of games this season. A second-half turnaround was not in the cards for Duke, however, as the team began the half with an uninspired stretch that set the tone for the remainder of the game.
The Blue Devils committed six turnovers on their first 11 possessions of the half, going one-shot-and-out four different times and
Her difficulties were compounded by the foul trouble of freshman Alana Beard and senior Rochelle Parent, not to mention the scoring struggles of guard Sheana Mosch. Although the Blue Devils received an unexpected 14 points from reserve Iciss Tillis, only Beard and her 27 points were able to provide any sort of consistency to Duke's offense. Yet when the Blue Devils held a one-point advantage with six minutes remaining, even their national freshman of the year faltered. Duke scored only one field goal in those final six minutes, and the 10-point victory touched off a tremendous celebration by the Bears, who were one of four teams to upend a No. 1 or No. 2 seed on a Saturday filled with upsets.
"I told our players even while they were still celebrating on the court, 'This is a great victory for us. Knocking off the No. 1 seed is a great accomplishment for us,'" Burnett said. "We wanted to feel great about the victory, but we're still on a mission. I told them, 'Don't use another ounce of energy celebrating because this is just one game of two, for right now.'"
SMS will play as the favorite tonight for the first time since the tournament's opening round. The Bears will host sixth-seeded Washington, which eliminated second-seeded Oklahoma Saturday in the evening's second game, for a right to represent the West Region in the Final Four.
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