When the women's basketball team arrived in Toledo, their season, although in its early stages, had gone according to expectations. Duke had dominated Dynamo-Moscow in its only preseason game and then soundly defeated then-seventh-ranked Texas Tech in the State Farm Classic. Friday night the Blue Devils crushed an outmatched squad from Elon 102-52.
However, when Duke (2-1) left Toledo (1-0) Sunday on the short end of a 71-65 score, the Blue Devils were the Rockets' first victory over a ranked opponent, as well as the highest ranked opponent any Toledo sports team has beaten in recent memory.
"Congratulations to [Toledo Coach] Mark Ethlen and his players," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "They played a tremendous basketball game. They came in focused and they were ready to play. They played with great intensity, heart, hustle and determination."
Duke opened the first half with an unproductive 12 minutes, shooting 6-for-18 from the floor. The Blue Devils, however, were still able to take the lead at halftime, 30-23. Sheana Mosch, one of only two Duke players in double figures, made two baskets and a three pointer over the last 4:15 of the half to fuel a 9-0 Blue Devil run.
Seemingly unfazed, however, Toledo regrouped and jumped back into the lead with a 12-2 run to start the second half. Then, after a Duke basket, Toledo's Courtney Risinger knocked down a three pointer to put the Rockets ahead 38-34.
"They hit some big shots," Goestenkors said of Toledo's early second half performance. "We came out and weren't ready to play defensively and we took some quick shots offensively. Overall, Toledo showed a lot of poise and patience.
"They have so many weapons, it seemed every time we got a little cushion and felt good about a defense, somebody would step up and hit a big shot for them," Goestenkors said. "They were hitting threes on our man and our zone. It didn't matter what we did because they had players come in and hit big shots."
Toledo's last big shot came with 9:17 left in the game, surging the Rockets back in front. They wouldn't surrender the lead again, and held on with clutch 8-for-12 free throw shooting down the stretch.
Despite trailing, the Blue Devils didn't relent, scoring four points in the last 21 seconds after Toledo had pushed the lead to 10. However, it turned out to be too little, too late for Duke.
"I think they played great team defense," Blue Devils sophomore Alana Beard said. "Everyone was where they were supposed to be. They had a lot of determination.
"We didn't move at all. We need to set more screens and do more of the little things right on both offense and defense. We can take this as a learning experience and go from here."
Beard led Duke with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, while Mosch was perfect from the line and 2-of-4 from behind the arc for 16 points.
However, Duke's starting front court of sophomore Iciss Tillis and freshmen Wynter Whitley and Monique Currie only scored a combined six points and totaled just nine rebounds. Meanwhile, their counterparts--Tia Davis, Teresea Kahle, and Melantha Herron--accounted for 44 of their team's 71 points and 23 of the Rockets' 32 rebounds.
It was a stark contrast to Duke's Friday night game against Elon, which saw the Blue Devils dominate in the paint, scoring 46 points. Aggressive play also allowed Duke to travel to the free throw line 31 times. Tillis and Currie finished the game with 17 points apiece, and Whitley contributed 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting.
Duke used long stretches of Elon inactivity to secure the victory. After the Phoenix pulled within seven points with 8:05 remaining in the first half, the Blue Devils closed on a 23-4 run.
The second half produced a similar storyline. Both teams traded baskets early and then the Blue Devils started to increase their lead. With 10:47 left, a lay-up by Phoenix center Courtney Nyborg brought the score to 76-44. It would be the last point Elon would register for next eight minutes, and they only made three field goals the rest of the way.
Duke dominated Elon in all facets of the game, but their hustle and grit was especially prevalent. The Blue Devils won the rebound battle 64 to 31, and converted 28 second chance points.
While another game less than only two days after a crushing victory could have been used to bolster Duke momentum, Ethlen felt that the quick turnaround gave his Toledo team an edge.
"I think when you have an opportunity to prepare for one team for a long time that's an advantage," Ethlen said. "They had to play two games before us. We were able to put together a game plan. We had a pretty good plan coming into this game and our players executed great, and I'm just really proud of them."
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