On a night when Duke unveiled a Final Four banner and four talented freshmen played their first regular season game at legendary Cameron Indoor Stadium, the swarming Duke defense was the dominating force in Duke's 108-46 crushing of an overmatched East Carolina squad.
Without the tenacity and intensity of the Duke defense that forced East Carolina into awkward shots and 30 turnovers, the Blue Devils' offense would not have seemed nearly as impressive.
The old saying "defense creates offense" held true on Friday night as Duke scored 50 points off of Pirate turnovers.
"The one thing that I focus on in my pregame warm-up is defense," Alana Beard said. "I go out there and think defense. I know my defense creates my offense."
Beard is the clear leader of the Duke defense as her quickness allows her to rotate over to help her teammates and pressure opponents into turnovers.
"It seems like there are two or three of her out on the court at one time because she is all over the place," head coach Gail Goestenkors said.
On her way to six steals on the night, Beard's defense took over the game near the end of the first half. With tremendous anticipation and speed, Beard is able to jump into a passing lane or strip the ball and propel herself towards the basket for an easy fast-break layup.
"She's got super-quick hands," East Carolina head coach Sharon Baldwin said. "She stripped us four or five times before we even got into our offense."
The defensive effort against the Lady Pirates did not end with Beard as the team totaled 20 steals and limited their opponent to 46 points and a 35.4 field goal percentage.
The defense was especially impressive in transition holding the Lady Pirates to a meager eight points off Duke turnovers. Many of the Blue Devil steals came when East Carolina ball handlers tried to bring the ball into the front court.
The Duke pressure prevented the Lady Pirates from getting into their half court offense, clogging the passing lanes and trapping the overmatched team in the backcourt.
The constant pressure drained the East Carolina players who never got an opportunity to relax on the court. The Duke defense talent is also very deep which accentuates the continuous pressure on opponents' offense.
Despite the impressive performance, Goestenkors always sees room for defensive improvement. The team plays mainly man-to-man defense but has been trying to improve their zone to give opponents a different look.
East Carolina was more successful offensively against the zone, nailing a number of open threes and passing the ball with significantly less difficulty.
On a night when distractions and debuts could have result in defensive lapses, the Blue Devils proved why their defense is the core of their success.
"I think they are very aggressive defensively," said Bladwin. "They are very balanced. They play well together. They communicate well."
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