ORLANDO, Fla. -- People watching Duke dismantle Louisiana Tech to the tune of 76-64--either in the Milk House in Disney's Wide World of Sports or on ESPN2--were reminded of a few things to be avoided when playing the Blue Devils.
First, try not to play them on national television. Second, do not attempt to play them man-to-man. Third, if you do play them man-to-man, do not challenge sophomore guard Alana Beard all over the court. Fourth, pray that your institution's name does not include the word "Tech."
Duke defeated its second top-10 opponent named Tech by outplaying and totally outclassing Louisiana Tech--much as they did to Texas Tech in the season opener Nov. 11.
"I think both games were very important," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "[Texas Tech] was our first true test.
"I think this [game] was probably even more important because of the two losses we've had since the Texas Tech game. So I think we were doubting ourselves a little bit. We know we have a lot of talent, but we know we're still trying to find our way."
For Duke, finding its way becomes much easier when Beard dons Moses' robes and takes the lead.
On Duke's first possession, Beard drove from the top of the key, drew a help-side defender and dished the ball to a wide open Wynter Whitley, whose defender had provided the help. After Whitley converted the open layup, Duke--and Beard--were off.
More than 10 minutes later, Beard cut down along the baseline to the right of the basket, darted through three Lady Techsters, tossed a shot off the glass, rebounded it on the other side of the basket and put her second layup through the hoop. Duke led 28-17.
In between those two plays, Beard notched eight points, four assists and three steals. The game was hers--and Duke's.
Other than recruit a better point guard, there was nothing Louisiana Tech coach Leon Barmore and his Lady Techsters could have done to deny Beard the steals. Louisiana Tech guard Essence Perry surrendered the ball five times during the game; her fear was palpable from press row each time Beard screamed "ball" in her face. This did not surprise Beard.
"I watched tape of her and she was a decent player, but I knew I could bother her with a lot of pressure and I could disrupt their offense," said Beard, who finished with six steals.
If her defensive production was beyond Barmore's control, Beard's offensive domination could, perhaps, have been checked.
Clearly, Louisiana Tech's defensive strategy was to overplay and shut down Beard. She saw double teams in the paint and pressure any time she approached the three-point arc. When doubled, she adroitly passed to the open Blue Devil. When pressured on the perimeter, she put the ball on the floor and exploded past the defense.
Beard converted these opportunities into 15 points and 11 assists--the latter statistic being a personal best and one shy of a Duke record.
Louisiana Tech went at the Blue Devils, constantly daring them to drive or pass through the pressure. Duke did just that, connecting on backdoor passes and numerous inside layups by Monique Currie and Iciss Tillis.
Never once did the Lady Techsters fall back into a zone--a defense that Goestenkors acknowledged has given Duke some trouble.
"Against South Carolina, we did become stagnant when they played us in a 3-2 zone," she said.
Goestenkors also observed that Duke played with a much higher degree of intensity in this game against a highly ranked team before a national audience than it did in its losses to the Gamecocks and the Toledo Rockets.
"At Toledo, [we played down to their level]," Goestenkors said. "Against South Carolina, I'm not sure what happened."
After beating Louisiana Tech, she knew exactly what happened. Her Blue Devils had been challenged straight up and had overcome by hustling for rebounds and beating the Lady Techsters' man defense.
While Duke was winning, Pat Summitt's Tennessee Volunteers mixed zone and man defenses to obliterate N.C. State 93-56 in the earlier game. The mighty Vols, who play Duke Dec. 27, sat quietly at the end of press row watching and absorbing the lessons.
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