By this point in the season, Duke fans can probably find Alana Beard's numbers in the women's basketball box score without even looking for her name-the junior's stats this season have stood out as though they had been written in bold. From her 41-point virtuoso performance against conference rival Virginia, to her leadership in early-season blowouts over the likes of Howard and Tulsa, the guard has been the No. 1 player on the No. 1 team in the land.
Thursday, Alana's numbers stood out once again, but it was the play of classmates Iciss Tillis and Vicki Krapohl that helped elevate Duke above Wake Forest, 71-61.
"[It's] been good for us... to know that Alana doesn't have to carry us," head coach Gail Goestenkors said after the game.
The three juniors packed most of Duke's punch at both ends of the floor, and put the top-ranked Blue Devils ahead for most of the game against the unranked Demon Deacons. The trio combined for 53 points, 27 rebounds and 12 steals.
The game opened like many of Beard's exhibitions, with the all-American taking the ball coast-to-coast for a lay-in that opened the game's scoring. The first few minutes of the contest featured the makings of what would be strong supporting play from Tillis and Krapohl.
With about 15 minutes left in the first half, Krapohl took the ball at the top of the key and took a step towards the hoop that left her Demon Deacon defender prone and likely embarrassed. She then slung a pass to Beard, who laid the ball in to extend Duke's lead to 6-4.
Tillis' multifaceted play kept the Blue Devils ahead of Wake Forest for the first half; her scoring, passing and defense gave a credible second option to a team that has depended heavily-perhaps too much so-on Beard this season.
"I don't think our offensive balance is anywhere where we want it to be, but that'd be kind of weird if it was at this part of the season," Krapohl said.
Tillis set up her teammates with perceptive play and crisp passes, but it was by capitalizing upon her own defensive play that Tillis finally got her name onto the scoreboard at Cameron. She stripped the ball from Demon Deacon center Johanna Bjorklund and passed the ball to Sheana Mosch, whose layup clanged right into Tillis' hands. Tillis grabbed the rebound and dropped the ball through the net for her first points of the game. The basket also represented her 999th and 1,000th career points, which put her at 17th on the list of all-time Duke scorers.
The women's basketball team squeaked out a ten-point victory in a game that was much closer than that. But, most importantly, they added a few new characters to the Alana Beard Show-a few characters whose numbers might jump out of a box score someday soon.
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