Playing for the first time as a No. 1 seed, Duke did what top-seeded squads should do to 16 seeds.
The Blue Devils (29-3) beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee (19-11) Saturday, ending the Panthers' season with a 96-63 defeat. The game was not the total whalloping indicated by the final score, as it left neither the Panthers, their proud coach, nor a fairly large contingency of Milwaukee fans hanging their heads.
"This was our first chance to dance," Milwaukee coach Sandy Botham said. "I'm really proud of our team. Our fans were with us until the very end, too."
While the Midwestern Collegiate Conference champions never truly challenged Duke for the lead in the contest, they scrapped for the loose balls and played intensely throughout. In fact, it was the Panthers' constant intensity that made this game feel less like a blowout and more like the NCAA tournament.
The Blue Devils established themselves early, however, by scoring 20 points to Milwaukee's five in the first eight minutes of the game. Six of Duke's points during that stretch came off of Alana Beard steals, as the freshman made a habit Saturday of picking off Panther guard Teri Stoltenberg and beating her downcourt for layups.
"Getting those steals and layups really fuels our defense," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "We feed off those tips and steals."
Milwaukee finally broke the nickel mark when All-MCC guard Jessica Wilhite hit a jumper, and the lead closed
Craig hit another long-range shot in the second half and was perfect from beyond the arc in the game. She said extra work last week in practice gave her confidence to take the three.
"Rometra asked me to work with her after practice on her three-pointer," Goestenkors said. "She'd been struggling with her shot in practice, but after practice yesterday, she hit about 20 straight threes. I said, 'Give me something to help you out with.'"
While Craig and Georgia Schweitzer found their range, Milwaukee's shooters struggled. Wilhite, who hit 89 treys this season, airballed twice before hitting a three-pointer with about four minutes remaining in the first half. And the Panthers' third-leading scorer, freshman center Maria Viall, was rendered useless in the post by Rochelle Parent's defense.
Duke went to the locker room with a 45-28 halftime lead, after Milwaukee's Stefanie Kaufmann hit a bucket at the buzzer. Although the lead was fairly decisive by that point, the Blue Devils still were unsatisfied with their performance.
"I thought we were a bit rusty," Goestenkors said. "I was much more pleased with our intensity in the second half."
Duke's defense was tighter in the second frame, as the Panthers were forced to burn a timeout less than two minutes in when they could not inbound the ball.
Milwaukee scored its first seven points of the half within three minutes-four points came from the free-throw line, while Stoltenberg knocked down another trey. Down by 14, the Panthers did not score again for over four minutes when Wilhite hit a long three. By then, Milwaukee was down by 20.
Duke's freshmen bore the scoring burden, as Beard, Craig, Iciss Tillis and Crystal White took care of all of the team's offense for the next six minutes.
Meanwhile, Duke's defense handled everyone except Wilhite. The diminutive, ruddy-cheeked sophomore made three treys in the final 13 minutes, and Nicole Luchsinger and Holly Tamm backed her up with free throws and layups.
In the end, however, all of Duke's five freshmen got to taste an NCAA tournament game, and four freshmen scored. Beard led the Blue Devils with 22, while Craig added a career-high 20. Wilhite was the only Panther to score in double-figures, as she recorded 24 points.
"I wasn't nervous," Beard said. "I was ready to play. The jitters are out."
The Blue Devils will face ninth-seeded Arkansas (20-12) tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Razorbacks last played Duke in the 1998 NCAA tournament, when they upset the Blue Devils in the Elite Eight.
"Arkansas is so physical inside," Goestenkors said. "We're not going to get as many steals or easy layups. We got away with some stuff today that we're not going to get away with on Monday."
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