After a winter break in which Duke recorded three blowout victories and suffered a tough loss to perennial championship contender Tennessee, one fact remains clear for the Blue Devils as they head into the heart of their conference season--eight is great.
That is, Duke's eight-player rotation has been extremely productive and seems to have gotten over the losses of sophomores Rometra Craig and Crystal White, both of whom transferred at the end of the fall semester.
This reality could not have been more apparent Sunday afternoon, when the Blue Devils drubbed an overmatched, yet upbeat Wake Forest squad in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Coach Gail Goestenkors lost nothing when she subbed her starters out and, as a result, no Blue Devil was forced to play more than 33 minutes, and only three players (Iciss Tillis, Sheana Mosch and Alana Beard) logged more than 30 minutes.
Goestenkors believes her team was so successful against the Demon Deacons because it experienced no drop-off when reserves entered the game.
"We've only got eight players, but any eight can start," Goestenkors said. "All eight have started as a matter of fact. I think that's a good feeling knowing that we can sub in very freely and really at so many different positions."
One position where subbing proved to be a productive measure was at the point guard slot, occupied by sophomore Vicki Krapohl and senior Krista Gingrich. Krapohl, who started at the point, only turned the ball over once the whole game while knocking down two important three-pointers that made the Deacons rethink their defensive strategy. The quick guard also pestered the Wake perimeter players throughout the contest, tallying four steals and constantly hounding the Deacon ballhandlers.
Gingrich, the team's captain, played a solid floor game off the bench, dishing out six assists and committing only two of the Blue Devils' 11 turnovers. Not considered among Duke's top scoring threats by most, Gingrich, like the underestimated Krapohl, knocked down two threes that flustered Wake Forest.
One of these threes was crucial in the Blue Devils' ability to take the game over midway through the first half, as Gingrich nailed a trifecta that gave Duke the lead at 22-19, an advantage they did not relinquish for the rest of the game.
"The two people that hurt us in the first half were Gingrich and Krapohl," Wake Forest coach Charlene Curtis said. "To me, they're the ones that you can't let score. Because that's what they're going to do--they're going to run the offense, make passes and stand out there, but then when you go to sleep on them, they'll knock down threes."
Duke's wing players also confounded the Wake Forest defense, showing an ability to penetrate, crash the boards and knock down jumpshots. Sophomore Alana Beard strengthened her case for national player of the year honors with a complete performance highlighted by 19 points and a team-leading nine rebounds.
Freshman Monique Currie and junior Sheana Mosch, both of whom struggled in the first half, improved their play in the second half, which beefed up Duke's offensive arsenal. Currie led the Blue Devils with 13 second half points and 90 percent free throw shooting after intermission. Meanwhile, Mosch, after shooting a meager 1-of-7 from the field in the first half, came back with eight points in the second half on 3-of-4 shooting.
"I think every player goes through ups and downs and I think everybody loses confidence at some point in time," Goestenkors said of Mosch. "But Sheana knows enough and that's why she came back and was able to hit some shots, and get out on the break in the second half. She did a much better job attacking the basket."
In fact, Duke's up-tempo transition game impressed Curtis, whose Deacons could simply not run with the faster Blue Devils. All in all, Curtis believes that this fast-paced style of play, coupled with the high level of chemistry that Duke exhibits, will make it tough to topple.
"You need eight players that you can count on every day, and Gail has got eight players that she knows she can count on everyday. They're so good that their bad days are mediocre days for a lot of other people," Curtis said. "You pray that your players will stay healthy in terms of numbers, but in terms of chemistry, I think it's a positive, because they all know that they're going to play."
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