Gingrich's final stand

The last home game against Florida State was sad for women's basketball fans. Even though the Blue Devils checked all ACC teams off their list with that outstanding win, sophomore Alana Beard collected her 1,000th career point and Duke gained the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament, there was still sadness. It was the fact that Duke fans will never again get to see senior Krista Gingrich donning that white uniform and sprinting down Coach K Court, making her trademark treys--71 of them over the years--to topple opponents' hopes of containing her. In each of Gingrich's four years, she has experienced dramatically different types of team chemistry. True to her versatility, she flourished in all but one of her years at Duke. Now, she is the only senior on a team of women who, other than her, have never been to a Final Four. Going from a wide-eyed rookie to experienced senior leader is something that Gingrich found easy to do. "I think I can help the team keep a level head and know that we're there to get the job done," Gingrich said. "[This year] is still my favorite because the ending is not set yet, and that's really exciting for me. "I think this month is going to be important for me to be a leader because I am the only one who has ever been to a Final Four. There are more people at your practice at the Final Four than people [who] go to watch us in Cameron. It's just unbelievable." Coming to Duke as a highly-touted freshman, Gingrich was overshadowed on an extremely talented team. The experience gave her a taste of the top that she strove to achieve again the rest of her Duke career. That year she scored double figures in nine games and finished second on the team in three-point goal percentage. Against UConn, she had a career night, going 6-for-6 in free throws and hit two three-pointers. "Everyone is a star coming out of high school and the goal at the collegiate level is to know your role and help the team win, and I think in that sense I really fulfilled my goals," Gingrich said. "If the team needed me to bring the ball down court to set up the offense, that's what I did. If I needed to hit a big three, then that's what I tried to do. I think it was basically knowing my role and giving what Coach G needed." Sophomore year, Gingrich finally solidified herself as a starter on the team. In the season opener of 1999, she played efficiently against UNC-Greensboro, logging 13 minutes and scoring nine points--six of which came from three-point range. That year, she also made several key three-pointers--notably at Virginia Tech when she hit a trey in the final four minutes of the game that helped the Blue Devils secure a 70-61 win. That Blue Devil team advanced to the NCAA East Regional Finals, receiving a significant contribution from Gingrich all along the way. "My sophomore year was really special because no one picked us to win anything," Gingrich said. "They thought we were going to have a down year and we were the underdogs and we loved it. Everyone knew how to step up and played hard and played together. I liked that year because we were all over-achievers. No one really expected us to win and we did." A junior year plagued with calf injuries made Gingrich a bystander for much of the 2000-2001 season, as she appeared in only 19 games. Her highlight came against Clemson, when she scored a season-high eight points in 13 minutes of action. But the most important development of Gingrich's season was the strengthening of her friendship with team captain Georgia Schweitzer, who now serves as an assistant coach for the Blue Devils. "Last year was special because I got to experience the Georgia Schweitzer that everyone loved," Gingrich said. "Unfortunately, it was from the sidelines that I enjoyed just watching and helping when I could. Obviously, you never want to be injured and you want to be giving all that you can. I thought the world was going to end, but all throughout the season, I decided to maintain a positive attitude and to keep encouraging my teammates, and I think through that I encouraged myself to stick with it." As the NCAA Tournament approaches, Gingrich hopes the 2001-2002 Blue Devils can take things a step further than the 1998-1999 team that fell just short of accomplishing its goals. Maybe this year, she will be part of the team that wins it all.